


The Bet

by alywrites



Series: Just say you won't let go [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: (borderline) "Minor" Daario Naharis/Daenerys Targaryen, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Chapter 21 big time jump, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Jock Jon Snow, Jon Snow is a Stark, Jonerys Engame, Loss of Virginity, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Quiet Dany, R Plus L Does Not Equal J, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, chapter 21 warning of two Daario and Dany scenes that are 'too much', chapter total may change, couples are allowed to have sex in this day and age if you didn't know, mix of realism and fiction (duh), time jump(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:06:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 197,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21556717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alywrites/pseuds/alywrites
Summary: Jon Snow Stark is Winterfell High's typical jock. Popular, hot, has all the ladies swooning, wears nothing but black, rides his own motorcycle to school, captain of the football team. His best friends are Theon Greyjoy, Beric Dondarrion, and Eddison Tollett. When Theon suggests they do a big senior prank, Jon shuts his ideas down for lack of creativity. But what happens when a silver-blonde haired girl catches his eye, and has him smirking to his best friend?"Get her to date you. If she says 'I love you' first, I'll give you $200. If you say those magic three words first, I get double."_____Daenerys Targaryen is a senior at Winterfell High, and is holding onto any and every string of hope she can find after a tragic childhood past that haunts her everyday. Wake up, go to school, study, somewhere between find time to eat enough to sustain yourself, take care of her uncle, sleep, and repeat. With just her uncle, who's barely reaching an old age, and her best friend Missandei, to get her through her life day by day, she minds her own business and does what she must.She certainly does not need the most popular boy in school to mess with her plans, and her life.... does she?–:– completed –:-
Relationships: Daario Naharis/Daenerys Targaryen, Grey Worm/Missandei, Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow/Val (minor/past), Jon Snow/Ygritte (past), Khal Drogo/Daenerys Targaryen (past), Robb Stark/Margaery Tyrell, Talisa Maegyr/Robb Stark (high school/minor)
Series: Just say you won't let go [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755043
Comments: 1109
Kudos: 1066





	1. Nothing will matter 5 years from now...right?

The school bell's sharp, high pitched ring rang across the campus, signaling the start of the second week of school. They were late to class. Again. Not that it bothered Jon much. He could walk into class 20 minutes late, and still manage to understand whatever the lesson just enough to get him to do his homework correctly. He was sitting in the parking lot with his best friends, Theon, Ed, and Berric, talking about whatever crap they were talking about now. 

"Jon are you even listening?" Theon's voice snapped him out of his head and back into the conversation of.. of.. no, he wasn't listening. 

"No, not really" He walked closer to some car and sat on the top of its trunk, needing a place to sit. "What were we talking about?" 

"He was going on about how hot the new girl is" Eddison, or Ed as they called him, answered. Right.. who was the new girl again? Theon seemed to read his mind. 

"You remember Margaery Tyrell? The one who has a rich grandmother who owns the Tyrell Manufacturing Business that's huge in the South?" 

Suddenly Jon could recall the girl. He had to agree with Theon, for the girl was extremely hot. She walked into class on the first day of school in a pair of blue jeans and a blouse with little flower designs, her ass filling the jeans to its brim. Her brunette hair was styled in curly waves that rested on her back and shoulders. Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the light, and held a look of innocence and naivety, but if the smirk on her face as she walked past the myriad of guys staring at her was any indication of what she truly was, Jon was sure she was anything but innocent. Even a part of him was wanting to take the dainty looking rose for a ride. 

"Yeah, what about her?" 

"You know what about her. She's fucking hot as hell. You think she has a boyfriend?" 

"Don't know mate, you'll have to figure that out yourself. Although, last I heard she was dating her brother's crush, then moved onto Cersei Lannister's oldest son, then his brother after that" But those were merely just rumors that Jon had heard. He wasn't sure if they were real or not, but bless the girl if she did happen to date Cersei's oldest. Jon had the displeasure of meeting the golden haired devil back when they were still little kids, and Cersei and Robert visited his uncle. Needless to say, Jon wouldn't bat an eyelash if the kid happened to choke to death on his wine on the day of his wedding or anything of the sorts. 

"If she doesn't, dibs on her. And even if she does, I still call dibs" Theon smiled wide to himself, the asshole. 

Jon had met Theon through Robb back in the fifth or sixth grade. Robb and Jon were walking out of class for lunch, when Robb had invited Theon to come hang with them, thus the beginning of the friendship, if one could call it that. Jon wasn't entirely sure he completely trusted and liked the Greyjoy. He had met both Berric and Ed in middle school, the seventh grade. He felt a connection to the two guys, an inkling that they could understand him in a way that others couldn't. Robb was his first best friend, and the two had gone through everything together since they were still in diapers. But once they got into high school, Robb had met some girl named Talisa Maegyr and now have been dating since the middle of sophomore year. He and Robb were still close as hell though, seeing as they did live in the same house and all, they just didn't do every single thing together in school anymore, which was completely fine by Jon. It gave him the chance to do his own things. 

"Oh! Hey, I brought the thing" Theon suddenly shouted, before reaching for his backpack and digging through the crumpled papers and broken pencils in the bag, and taking something out. It was a vape pen that he had told them he would bring this week. 

"Hand it over" Jon said, leaning over his legs to reach for the object. He knew his parents, technically his uncle and aunt, would kill him if they ever found out he was smoking an actual cigarette, so Jon decided to settle for a compromise, knowing Theon had a ton of pens at his house. How, he would never know. Probably due to the fact that his parents spoil the kid to make up for ignoring him. 

"You thinking' of going back out there Snow?" Ed asked him as he reached for the pen from Jon. "After Ygritte and Val, I figure it's time for you to get your game back, y'know?" He took a deep breathe from the pen. 

"Don't know that there's really anyone for me right now. Nearly all the girls in our grade are just the same. Act the same, look the same, want the same. They either want your popularity status or your dick. Can't say I'm really up for looking for another" Jon reasoned, and it was true. He didn't want to just sleep with some girl then move on to the next. 

"Since when did you get all philosophical Snow?" Theon teased. 

"I- What? That's not even philosophical" Jon blubbered. 

"Maybe not, but you act like your brother. You really looking for the one special girl now? I thought you were better than that. We're only in high school man, all the girls are at their peak age of hotness and hormones, so you might as well take the opportunity while you have it. Special girl can come later. Don't go all goody two shoes on us now." Theon was, what most would say, a fuck boy and a player. He jumped from girl to girl, trying to get into her pants, then as soon as he found another that topped the previous, he'd do the same. Somebody had to teach this kid about STI's or something. 

"You think I could pull off a goody two shoes act? I never said I was looking to settle down, I'm just tired of flirting and entertaining what might as well be the same girl in different bodies. And I'm not like you. I may be bad, but not bad enough to go trying to contract chlamydia or something" In response, Theon sneered and flipped him off. 

"We still meeting at the same table at lunch later?" Berric stood up from sitting on the ground. 

"I got a meeting with the team, but I'll be there" Jon told him. He was part of the Winterfell's top varsity team for football, and not just any random player, but the captain of the team. They'd started training over the summer, and their first game was coming up in a couple of weeks. The Winterfell wolves had been undefeated for 5 years straight, and Jon was not about to break that 5 year streak as captain. 

"We'll talk more later then" Theon jumped off the car he'd been sitting on. "Ed give the pen back" 

The group dispersed into separate directions as they headed off to walk into their first class of the day, despite there only being about 20 minutes left in the period. Throwing his sunglasses back over his eyes, Jon slung his backpack over his right shoulder, checking in the window of the building to see if he looked okay, then ran a hand through his disordered hair and pulled the door open. 

\----------

The bell blasted its sharp, high pitched ring through the school, signaling the end of the period and the beginning of lunch. Dany sighed silently in relief. It had only been the second week of school, and she was already losing her temper with her AP Environmental Science teacher, who bore the absolute hell out of her. 

She picked up her backpack that hung off her chair and made her way to her locker, entering her code before sliding it open, and putting her heavy textbooks inside, and taking an apple out before heading out to the cafeteria for lunch. 

As soon as she walked in, Dany was bombarded with noise from multiple people all talking at the same time with each other, the usual buzz of noise of a bunch of high schoolers in the cafeteria together filling the room. She scanned the room, before seeing the head of curly brown hair and walking towards it. When she came close, the person turned around. 

“Dany, hey! I saved you a seat, here” Her best friend Missandei ushered her to sit down. “How were your classes today?” Her friend asked, before taking a big spoonful of soup she had brought in a thermos cup for lunch today. 

“Oh, you know, the usual. Boring. Mr. Mormont still gives me the creeps. He’s like a good 20 or 30 years older than me at the least, and he still looks at me with that glint in his eyes. It’s creepy” Dany complained, and took a big bite out of her apple. 

“That all you bring today?” Misaandei asked, taking a napkin to wipe her mouth.

“Yeah, I was kind of in a rush this morning. All I could grab” Dany shrugged, and took another bite. 

“Is everything okay at home?” Her best friend’s voice was genuine with concern. 

“Everything’s fine. It’s just, I don’t know, Uncle Aemon has been, less receptive lately, and slower” 

“Well, he is an old man Dany. It’s to be expected. I’m sure he’s fine and healthy” Missandei tried to reassure her friend. 

“I guess. You’re right, I’m sure he’s fine. I’m just worrying over nothing” 

Their quiet conversation was interrupted with loud cheers coming from the other side of the cafeteria. Both the girls head turned at the sudden disruption, only to see all the football boys huddled together, sounding like they were doing some war cry or something. Dany rolled her eyes at them, before turning back to Missandei, who still had her eyes glued to the guys. Dany followed her friend’s trail of vision and saw that she was staring at one guy in particular. She smiled. 

“Who’s caught your eye?” Dany asked in a teasing voice. Missandei’s head whipped back to face her, her eyes wide as she’d been caught. 

“Wha- no one. Nobody. They’re all” She made a gesture with her hands “Weird, I don’t know. I wasn’t looking at anybody” Missandei rambled and stuttered. Dany’s smile only grew at her best friend’s inability to lie, and stayed like that until she cracked. 

“Okay fine! He’s the co-captain for the varsity team. Grey Nudho, you know him?” Dany shook her head. “Well we have two classes together this year, and he’s actually a pretty nice guy. And sweet. He isn’t like the other guys. Just a quiet, sweet guy” 

Dany smiled at her confession. She was happy that Missandei had finally found a crush, for she had teased her mercilessly for years since they became best friends about her never having a crush. Although she didn’t know him, he sounded like a good guy from Missandei’s description. 

“What about you? You still like him?” And suddenly the conversation was flipped back to her. 

“What? Like who?” She tried to play innocent, but it was a futile attempt. 

“Oh don’t act like that, you know who I’m talking about. Mr. Captain of the varsity team?” As if to remind her, Missandei gestured her head over to said person, who was sitting on one of the cafeteria tables talking to his teammates and friends. 

It was Jon Snow Stark, the guy every girl in the school has or has had a crush on, including Daenerys Targaryen. She’s had a crush on him since their freshmen year, when she’d spotted him reading the same exact book she was reading that happened to be her most favorite at the time. She hated that she still felt nervous whenever he was in her vicinity. It wasn’t like he would ever lay his eyes on her. It was a known fact to everyone that he was the most popular guy in the school. 

He’s had two major girlfriends that she knew of, Ygritte and Val, who both moved away in the same year. She’d heard a rumor that he’s also slept with nearly every girl in the grade, but she didn’t know how much truth there was to that rumor. But judging from his personality from afar, Dany was sure he’s slept with more than 3 or 4 girls. He was also the type of person she just did not want to associate herself with. Not only was he the most popular guy, but he was also part of the ‘bad boy’ group, that every school seemed to have. He was the most typical player there was; popular, extremely good looking, captain of the football team, has many friends, wears all black with a black leather jacket, rides a motorcycle to school, always late to class, vapes, drinks, sleeps around, and has a rich family. 

Meanwhile Dany was nothing but an insect in the shadow. Nobody knew who she was, she had no friends save for Missandei, but has managed to get top scores in almost every single class she’s taken since middle school, plans to graduate as a valedictorian, has next to no family left, and physically and mentally speaking, she believed that she just didn’t cut it. Jon was the total polar opposite of Dany, and those types of romances only work in books and movies, not in real life. 

“Hellooo, Earth to Daenerys?” Missandei waved a hand in front of her. “You daydreaming of him or something?” She tried to hide a smirk, but failed, resulting in Dany playfully slapping her arm. 

“I was not. And to answer your question, no, I do not. There’s no point in me liking some guy who’s not even so much as breathe in my direction. I’m just wasting my own time and energy” Dany self deprecated. 

“You gotta have some faith in yourself. Look, I know things were and are still tough for you, but stop acting like everything’s completely hopeless, okay? You’re extremely smart, extremely beautiful, and you have a good, genuine heart. That’s something that not many people can truthfully say they have. And even if it’s not Jon Snow Stark that you get your chance with, then it’ll be a different guy, someone who treats you like the true queen you really are.” 

Leave it to Missandei to help her feel better about herself. Dany smiled and hugged the girl, thanking her for the kind words. “Guys just aren’t worth it to me right now, but thank you anyways for that. It helped, a bit” 

Missandei chuckled and shrugged, before doing a small mock bow.

“You’re welcome, Your Grace” 

Dany rolled her eyes as the two burst out laughing. Their friendship group may only consist of just the two of them, but Dany wouldn’t have it any other way. She valued her friend as much as one could, and then some. Hoping things would never change between them, she took another bite of her forgotten apple in her hand and finished it. 

\---------

“Hey Jon, you know what I think we should do?” Theon bugged him. His football team began to spread out and sit with their other friends or girlfriends, leaving Jon with his other group of friends. 

“What?” He sighed, bracing himself for another one of Theon’s stupid ideas. 

“We should plan some sort of big, end of the year prank or something. Considering it is senior year, I say we go out with a bang” As if to add effect, Theon made a small gesture of his hands to look like an explosion. Jon rolled his eyes at him. 

“And what kind of prank do you have in mind exactly? Put a bunch of mini cups all over the floor in the hallways? Stick a bunch of sticky notes on the walls? Trigger the fire alarm? Those are all boring ideas. They’ve all been done by thousands of other high schoolers. If you want me to do something, it’s gotta be a unique one. I’m not trying to be remembered as some high school senior who left the school with a lame prank” Jon shut his friend down and watched as he tried to come up with a different idea to suit his needs. 

“You know what, you’re right. Thinkin’ too small here” Right as Theon opened his mouth, the bell rang, saying that it was time for the next class, and the end of lunch. Not that they cared, and simply stayed where they were at and continued talking. 

“Can’t think of any?” Jon smirked. 

“I’m thinkin’, just wait” Theon’s eyes immediately flashed up to look at the other side of the cafeteria. 

“I thought of one” he saw as his friend’s eyes glinted in a mischievous way and smirked. “You see that girl right there?” He nodded his head over to where he was looking. Jon turned and looked, and saw as two girls pulled their backpacks over their shoulders and threw their trash away to walk to class. 

“Which one?” 

“The silver one” Jon’s eyes immediately found who he was talking about. He couldn’t see her face clearly enough, her face turned to her friend as they talked, but he saw as her silvery blonde hair trailed over her shoulders in a soft wave. 

“Yeah? What about her?” 

“I have a bet” Theon clapped his hands together and tried to look serious, the glint still in his eyes. 

“And what might that bet be?”Jon turned and clapped his hands to mock Theon. 

“You date her. Whoever says the three magic words, owes money” 

What? 

“What are you talking about?” Jon didn’t understand. Theon rolled his eyes at his naivety. 

“I’m saying, get her to date you. If she says 'I love you' first, I'll give you $200. If you say those magic three words first, I get double” Theon stuck his hand out, as if Jon completely agreed. 

“What? No, no deal. That’s not even a prank man, that’s just fucking wrong. I’m not doing that. And why do you get more than I do?” 

“Oh, what, so now you turn into a goody two sh-” 

“I’m not, okay! I just don’t want to do that to someone. It’s not right.” 

His friend took a deep breath in before continuing. “It’s our last year of high school. You’ll never see her again unless you allow it. And it is a prank, maybe not a big one that involves the whole school, but it can still be a big prank, depending on how you see it. You didn’t seem to have this problem when you broke it off that easily with Ygritte or Val. Why does it matter now with some girl you don’t know? This is your last chance to show just how much of a ‘bad boy’ you can be before heading off to college, after that, no more fun. And I get more than you because this also your feelings we're gambling with, assuming you'll catch any. It also covers me staying quiet if you so happen to to continue on your merry way with her.” 

Jon sat and pondered his friend’s words. He was right in bringing up that he had no qualms with ending things with Ygritte or Val, so why should it suddenly matter now? This may be the last time he would have any true fun before college, where he’d study to work alongside his brother to take over the Stark Corporations business. And by the end of the year, Jon was sure he'd still be able to keep his $400 in his wallet and gain an extra $200 from Theon. Letting a deep breath out, he stuck his hand out and shook Theon’s hand, Ed and Berric being witnesses in the exchange. 

“Deal. I’ve never lost a bet Theon. You’re going down.”


	2. They say sleep helps you forget, but what if I can't do either?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit more of Dany's past experience with relationships is learned. Meanwhile, Jon makes further progress in his bet with Theon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of past abuse, underage sex, cheating, underage alcohol and drug use (minor) and assault (as said in the tags). if it isn't for you, just skip right over the part of Dany reminiscing and the huge part in italics.

He managed to spot the silver girl in the crowd of students in the hallway, all rushing to get to their next classes. Jon watched as she entered a room to the left, and his eyes widened slightly, for she had just walked into the class that he had right now. Walking quickly and ignoring the group of girls who called his name, he opened the door to his fourth period class. Jon managed to get through the door right before the late bell rang, and it made him feel weird at having been in class on time. 

“Mr. Stark, it’s good to see you actually in my class on time. Or in my class at all” Mr. Mormont looked up at him through his glasses that rested on his nose. Jon huffed a laugh out and clapped the old guy’s back. 

“Just for you sir” His teacher gave him a glare, so he removed his hand from his back, and looked to the class to try and find a seat. Preferably next to silver girl, he realized he’d taken to calling her.  _ Just my luck _ , he thought, as he saw that the seat next to hers was empty. 

He walked closer and placed his backpack on the table that she shared. Silver girl didn’t seem to notice him, as she was still turned away, looking for something in her backpack. 

“This seat taken?” He asked, causing her to jump slightly and look up at him, and  _ Gods,  _ he could never have been ready for what looked up at him. 

_ How had he never seen her before?  _

The first thing he noticed were her eyes, which seemed to practically glow up and light the whole room.  _ Were they even real?  _ Her eyes were a faint shade of violet, which he didn’t even know were possible. Her entire face was detailed with a look of shock, but he took the time to admire how her look was all natural, barely a hint of red blush coloring her pale cheeks, her lips holding no extravagant color or style, and her eyes, the only makeup consisting of her unique color. It was next to impossible that Jon could never have seen a girl like this in his school, let alone in one of his classes. His eyes were drawn to her soft lips as they moved, and it was only then did he realize she was trying to speak to him. All the noise of the classroom rushed back into his ears as he snapped out of his stupor. 

“Are you okay?” Her voice was soft and quiet. Perhaps that was why he’s never noticed her before. She was most likely one of the shy, soft spoken ones. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. So it’s, uh, not taken right?” He got a nod as a response, so he shrugged his backpack off and hung one strap over behind the chair and sat down. It seemed Mr. Mormont was waiting for him to actually start paying attention to start the lesson. 

“I’ve written your assignments up on the board. Today will just be a working day to finish up whatever assignments you have not finished yet, or started on.” Jon was 99% sure that last part was aimed towards him, and he cringed on the inside. “Textbooks are on your tables. Don’t forget to do your outlines on chapter 8. I expect you all to turn them in by the deadline next Friday. You may get to work.”    
  
And with that, Mr. Mormont turned back to his computer that sat on his desk, and the rest of the class turned to their homework, a quiet hum of noise filling the class. Jon was about to dig into his backpack and reach for his phone when he felt a light tap on his forearm. Turning his head next to him, silver girl was looking at him with her exotic eyes. 

“Can you pass me the textbook there please?” She pointed to the textbook that lay near the edge of the able on his side. Jon slipped his hands out of the pockets of his jacket and grabbed the book, gently placing it in her hands. He swore he heard her murmur a ‘thank you’ before turning back to her work. Inwardly, he cringed to and at himself for his stupidity earlier. If this was the girl Theon was betting his money on, he might as well get her name at the very least. With no care for repercussions, he turned and asked her. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” She turned slowly to him, his question disrupting her reading of the book. 

“Daenerys” She replied quietly. Even her name sounded beautiful and exotic. Who was this girl? 

“Oh. That’s a nice name. I’m Jon” He stuck his hand out for her to shake as a way of introducing himself. 

“I know” then she turned back to her book, whispering quietly to herself as she read, looking for the answers to her worksheet. Jon blinked a few times and squinted. That was  _ not  _ the reaction he was hoping for. The least she could do was shake his hand. And what did she mean by ‘I know’? ‘I know’ my name is nice? ‘I know’ you’re name is Jon. Wincing to himself, Jon figured it was the latter. Of course she knew who he was. Everyone knew who he was. But still, he thought she was quite rude about it. Though he wasn’t really one to talk. He turned back to his own work, sighing as he came across yet another question he didn’t understand. 

\----------

_ What the hell is Jon Snow Stark doing sitting next to me?  _ __   
  


Dany was inwardly panicking, though she hoped to gods that it wasn’t obvious. It wasn’t her fault that she woke up this morning thinking today would just be like any other day, only for her to walk into fourth period with Jon Stark asking if he could sit next to her. 

_ Why, why, why _ ? 

She wasn’t stupid. She knows that Jon was in her AP Environmental Science class. She just never expected to have any sort of run in with him at all. He usually preferred to sit with the group of girls who always flirted with him. She noticed the empty seat next to said group.  _ Why is he sitting here?  _ It made no matter, she thought. As long as he didn’t bother her, Dany could care less who sat next to her. 

Except when it was Jon Stark. 

She heard him sigh for the 6th time in the past ten minutes, and she risked a glance to see him leaning back in his chair, running a hand through his hair and staring at the paper in front of him. He looked like he was struggling on answering the questions, not that she could blame him. She had a tough time trying to figure it out too. Dany briefly considered asking if he needed her help, but thought otherwise. He can figure it out on his own. Turning back to her textbook, she skimmed the page that she’d read over 4 times already, not finding the last bit of the answer that she needed, before finally finding it. She grabbed her paper to jot down the answer, excited that she finally finished all her assignments for the chapter. 

“You’re really smart, aren’t you?” She heard the deep voice next to her speak. 

“Uh yeah. I guess. If you can call it that” Dany didn’t meet his eyes, instead focusing on putting her paper back into her binder and closing the textbook, pushing it off to the side. 

“I mean, you did just finish all your homework over a week before it’s even due. Dany shrugged in response, and left the conversation at that. Not that Jon would let it die off like that. 

“Do you think you can help me with this? I’ve been having trouble since last night trying to figure out the answers to this damn worksheet. It’s just not clicking with me” 

_ Maybe if you actually bothered coming to class on time or at all you’d understand it a little better.  _

Of course, Dany didn’t say that out loud, instead pulling the same worksheet out of her binder and looking at the answers and flipping it over, not wanting for him to just copy straight off her paper. 

“Okay. This one asks you to calculate the pH levels based on the graph. Can’t be too hard. This question asks you to find the relationship between the pH of the ocean water and the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. So like, whether there’d be more or less alkaline slash acidity. And if one decreases, the other increases, and so on. Make sense?”    
  
She looked up to him only to find him staring at her and not the paper, making her immediately uncomfortable. She sat back up in her own chair, which caught his attention back. 

“Uh, yeah, yeah. That actually makes things so much easier coming from you” Dany’s eyebrows stuck together as he mumbled something to himself.  _ Okay then.  _

“Shit sorry for bothering you again. Uh, what about these last three, how do you do them?” He asked her once more. Dany peered at the questions on his worksheet.  _ Is he serious?  _ He was asking for help on literally the easiest questions that there could be in an AP Science class. She didn’t know if he was genuinely stuck, or simply just asking her to bother her. If it was the former, how had he even made it into this class in the first place? If it was the latter, he sounded as if he truly needed her help. 

She shook her head. “No it’s okay. I don’t have much else to do.” And so she helped the poor boy out with his troubles on his work, all the way up until the bell rang for lunch time. 

“Thank you so much for help. I don’t know if I’d be able to finish that page up without your help” As if to add an effect, he smiled at her. 

“You’re welcome” was all she said before rushing out of class to meet Missandei for lunch to tell her all about the last hour. 

\---------- 

“You’re _ joking!”  _ Missandei exclaimed. Dany shook her head. 

“I wish I were, but nope. I don’t know why he’d do that all of a sudden” She brought another apple for her lunch today, and took a bite out of it. 

“That’s so weird. Didn’t you say he usually sat with like Wylla and Alys?” Dany nodded. 

“He does. Or usually. And the seat next to them was even empty. The entire class period I could practically  _ feel _ the daggers they were staring at me with” Dany was sure that was the most attention she’d ever gotten from people like Jon, Alys, and Wylla. And she wasn’t so sure she liked it at all. 

“Did he bother you at all?”    
  
“No. Well, technically kind of, but not really. He was having some trouble with this worksheet that’s due next Friday, and so he asked me for some help. I ended up helping him through all the questions” She explained to the girl. 

“Wow. I don’t know what to say. It’s certainly very different. So he wasn’t an entire ass to you?” Her friend wondered. 

“No, surprisingly not. He wasn’t like how he usually seems. Just another student who needed help in an assignment.” She shrugged and took another bite out of her apple. 

“You know” Missandei had a small smirk growing on her face. A dangerous thing. “You might be able to become one of his tutors if he keeps up that whole ‘bad-boy-who-needs-help-passing-school’ persona” 

Dany rolled her eyes at her best friend’s suggestion. “If you think this is one of those things where I help tutor him to get smarter only for both of us to fall in love with each other, you’re wrong Missy. Those things don’t exist and will never happen, especially between me and Jon” 

“Oh come on, don’t be such a downer. Really takes the spirit out of things sometimes” Missandei fake pouted and took a bite out of her salad. 

“I’m sorry that I just can’t find it in me to believe in those things anymore, or at all” Fairytales and happy endings don’t mix with Targaryens, it seemed,. More like angst and tragic endings, she thought bitterly. Her stomach growled, loud enough for Missandei to hear. 

“You should really consider bringing an actual lunch to school sometimes. You can’t just rely on a small apple to get you through 7 plus hours of school everyday. It’s not very healthy” Missandei tried to tell her. It wasn’t the first time either. But Dany could never seem to find enough time to worry over how big of a lunch she had. 

“I know. I just-” 

“Never have time to?” Missandei finished for her, knowing that it was going to be the same answer as it was all the other times. “Dany, doesn’t your uncle give you money to go grocery shopping?”    
  
“He does. But, it’s usually only a limited amount. And when it’s time to get the groceries, it’s usually the same time he needs more of his medications. And they’re kind of expensive. After I buy the stuff he needs, I need to buy food for both of us to eat when we’re home together. By then, I only have like $5 or $10 left” Dany explained. She loved her uncle with all that she had after everything that he’s done for her, so much she was willing and already risked her own health and wellbeing for his. He saved her life, and she would never be here if it weren’t for him. 

Missandei sighed. “This is just yet another example of your way-too-good-of-a-heart Daenerys. I don’t think Aemon would like it very much if he found out you weren’t taking care of yourself just as much as you are taking care of him” 

“Well then it’s a good thing he  _ won’t _ find out” Dany said, her voice pointing out Missandei, who only shook her head and returned to her salad. 

\---------- 

“So did you do it yet?” Theon bugged him. 

“Do what?” Jon asked, though he was pretty sure he knew what he was talking about. 

“You’re quite literally the most stupid person ever Jon. Did you ask her out?” The Greyjoy had the audacity to say. 

“I think that role’s already filled out by you Theon. I’m the hot, popular one. And no, I did not. We literally made this bet yesterday. Do you seriously think some girl, whom I’ve never even noticed before, is just going to say yes to my proposal for a date?”   
  
“I know at least ten girls who would love to beg to differ”   
  
Jon glared at him. “Whatever. Let me get closer to her first. Then I’ll figure out some way to ask her out. But for now, stop bugging me about it” 

“How do you plan on getting closer to her?” Edd asked, throwing the wrapper of his gum down to the floor, despite the trash can being only a couple steps away from them. Jon glared at him too. 

“I literally said stop bugging me about it. But just to answer your question, I’m not sure yet. I spoke to her for the first time in science today, which I didn’t even know I had with her. ‘Probably just play stupid and get her to help me with every single assignment, maybe then we’ll get closer that way, and it’ll be easier to get her to talk to me. Y’know she’s quiet and shy as hell? Her voice is so soft I can barely hear her talking to me, and she’s sitting right next to me. It might take some time”   
  
“Girls like those usually do take some time. But you’ll crack her Snow. Soon, she’ll be falling on her knees for you” Beric said, adding a wink to his last sentence. Jon shook his head and let out a chuckle. 

Soon she will. 

_ \---------- _

“Uncle Aemon?” Dany called out as she opened the apartment door and walked inside.

“In here child” she heard the raspy voice of her uncle call out from the kitchen. 

Dany made her way to her bedroom first, setting her books, backpack, and keys down in her room before going to the kitchen to check on her uncle. In there she found him in his wheelchair, a book left open on the small dining table to his left. She moved to place a kiss on his forehead and hugged him, his frail, old arms reaching around to hug her back. 

“How was school today, my sweet?” It was the same question he asked every time she came home from school, since she started kindergarten. 

“It was alright. Same as usual, nothing special” she answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. But there was no escaping her Uncle, he always knew when she was telling a lie. 

“Was it now? Come here dear” he asked for her. Dany knelt in front og. His hands trying to feel her face, his eyes no longer of use to him. “I can feel it in you Daenerys. Are you sure you’re alright?”    
  
“I’m feeling quite fine uncle. Really, I am. There’s no need to worry.” She insisted and tried reassuring her uncle. She didn’t need for him to start poking at her personal school life. “Has Cedric come in today?” Cedric was her uncle’s caretaker for when Dany was at school, and couldn’t be there to help her uncle with his own daily tasks. 

“He has. Although he did sound a bit sick when he came in today. But we still had a lovely time.” 

Dany hummed in response. “I’ll call him later if he’s feeling well to come in tomorrow.” Cedric was a nice man, in his late 20’s, and Dany was and would always be forever appreciative that he takes the time to take care of her uncle. Since her uncle had gone blind, his lack of vision and fragility from age made it hard for him to stay all alone by himself while Dany went out, thus forcing Dany to hire a home caretaker, not wanting to send her uncle to a nursing home because one, she didn’t want him far away from her, and two, she was technically still a minor in high school that couldn’t completely provide for herself, though the only assistance she gets was the money that her uncle gives her monthly and for groceries. Everything else like the bills for the apartment and the rent money was covered by an agent that her uncle had hired years ago. 

“Do you need anything else?” 

“I’m all set here dear. Thank you.” She hummed a ‘you’re welcome’ to him and walked to her bedroom, gently shutting the door. Picking up her backpack that was on the ground, she fished out her cell phone from the smallest pocket in the very front, putting it on her desk. Next she opened the biggest zipper, taking out her supplies, binders, and notebooks to do her homework. Opening up her laptop, Dany typed the password in, and saw a miss called facetime with Missandei. She clicked on her friend’s number and waited for her to reply, the sound of the facetime connecting buzzing in the room. 

“Dany, hey” Missandei’s voice and face came through. 

“Hey, sorry I missed your call. Was taking care of some things” 

“You’re good. I just wanted to talk, because I have been dying to talk about this since it happened.” Missandei’s voice went up a few notes, and Dany could hear the excitement in her voice and smiled. 

“What happened?”    
  
“After school today, I was waiting for my parents to pick me up, since they texted and said they were going to be a bit late today. So I sat on the bench that was underneath the tree in the front of the school, and was just on my phone. That was when I saw all the varsity football team walking outside the building, probably some meeting or something, I don’t know. 

“Anyways, they passed by me to get their gear out of their cars and head to practice, and that was when I saw Grey talking to Jon about something. I looked up at him, and  _ oh my god,  _ I was ninety nine percent sure I was practically staring and drooling at him. Jon probably saw, because he walked away pretty quickly. But I also saw him whisper something to Grey. Then it was just Grey and I staring at each other for like the longest time. That was when I thought I should probably say something before it gets awkward. So I said ‘hey’ and he gave this cutest small smile and said ‘hi’ back. Then he asked me what I was doing after school, so I told him I was waiting for my parents to pick me up and he nodded. Then he actually sat down next to me and we had this whole conversation for I don’t even know how long until I heard my parents honk the car at me. But that was something I did not expect him to do at all.”    
  
By the end of Missandei’s huge storytelling, she could hear her friend trying to catch her breath through the other side of the camera. Dany smiled wide at Missy’s excitement and glee. 

“Well it sounds like you had a pretty good day to me. But didn’t you say he was already a ‘sweet and quiet guy’? I thought you two already had a conversation with each other?”

“No. Well, actually, no yeah no. He wasn’t technically talking to me but the person that I sit next to in class. But he didn’t sound like a jerk at all. Or even act like one. But today was our first real conversation.” 

“Gotcha. I hope all goes well with you two Missy. You deserve a good guy like Grey.” Then silence fell upon the two as Dany resumed to finish her homework, no doubt Missy was doing the same on her side as well. A few minutes of silence passed between the two until Missandei broke it. 

  
“Hey Dany?”    
  
“Hm?”    


  
“I’m sorry.” Dany looked up from her paper, confusion etched on her face. 

“What for? Why would you be sorry?”    
  
“I wasn’t thinking about how you’d feel. I just kinda started talking. That was really insensitive of me. So I’m sorry.” Missandei hung her head down, feeling ashamed of herself. But Dany wasn’t having it, placing her pen down and clasping her hands together over her notebook. 

“Missandei, I don’t ever want you to apologize for telling me about how your day went, and how things went with the guy that you liked. Don’t ever apologize for talking about something that makes you happy. That would be insensitive of me if you couldn’t talk freely because you’re scared you’ll hurt my feelings or bring old wounds back. Don’t worry about me,  _ ñuha raqiros.  _ I promise you, I’ll be okay. And I quite enjoy hearing how excited you get over Grey, because I get to tease you with it.” Dany finished her reassuring speech to Missy with a light tone, not wanting the conversation to drift to the darker side. Sure enough, it worked, and they were back to talking about other random subjects. 

  
  
  


Later at night, or early morning, she wasn’t sure, Dany was tossing and turning in her bed, unable to fall asleep. It wasn’t like it was unusual for her to not fall asleep, but it was getting annoying not being able to get some proper rest, as she’d been tired all day. Her mind went over her day, from waking up in the morning, making sure her uncle was all set before leaving, walking from class to class, having that weird class period with Jon Stark, then lunch, then finally going home to take care of her uncle and do homework, to that call with Missandei. Minus the weird class period with Jon part, Dany’s day had gone on as it usually did everyday. Then her mind drifted to the words spoken between her and Missy. 

_ “I’m sorry”  _

_ “For what?”  _

_ “I wasn’t thinking about how you’d feel..”  _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “....can’t talk freely… scared you’ll hurt my feelings or bring old wounds back..” 

It was a topic that Dany wanted to stay far, far away from. She absolutely hated thinking about it. But this was usually where her mind drifted off to when she stayed up past 12 am in the morning for reasons that weren’t studying. 

She had only been in her sophomore year when it happened. She may have had a crush on the same guy since the first year of school, but that was pushed off to the side when another guy moved in from the East. His name had been Drogo, and though it was his first year at the high school and on the team, he was immediately named the captain of the team. He was the hot new boy that all the girls and even some guys seemed to like at the time, much like Jon’s status right now. Apparently two weeks after moving to Winterfell High, he started having a crush on her, much to Dany’s surprise. No guy had ever liked her before, and so she liked having the attention he gave to her. He would walk her to her classes, walk her home, all the cheesy things. Then he asked her out, and to this day Dany couldn’t stop cringing at how excitedly she had accepted his request. It was paradise for almost a month and a half, until it wasn’t. She should’ve told her uncle or Missy or somebody as soon as she noticed the signs. 

Drogo had begun to pay less attention to her, the walks to her classes growing less and less frequent, the hand-holding becoming scarce, his texts and calls and conversations with her getting shorter and shorter. When she brought it up to him, he’d simply brushed off, saying he ‘had a lot of homework to catch up on’ and that she should understand how stressed out he felt. And she did. So she gave him some space, allowing him to talk to her when he was in the head space to do so. But then his breath started smelling like alcohol and smoke whenever he kissed her. She asked him as such one day. ‘Are you drinking and smoking?’ His response had been brash and short, allowing no room for her to speak. His actions only grew worse, his temper shrinking every day. She accused him of lying to her, for drinking and smoking at an illegal age, and everyday she thinks back to how stupid she’d been to confront a man like Drogo like that. It was a mere slap to the face that shut her up. He’d been horrified the moment his hand retracted from her face. He apologized profusely to her, hugging her whilst crying, promising he’d never do it again. And she was stupid enough to believe him. Almost a week later, she sat down with him for lunch and noticed how jittery he was. When she tried to hold his hand and ask what was wrong, he grabbed her wrist,  _ hard, _ his huge hand swallowing the diameter of her arm. He was practically crushing her bones. He let go eventually, but Dany could already see the bruise beginning to form. She’d sat with Missy for lunch that day. 

Everyday it seemed to grow worse and worse between them. It reached its peak when his parents were gone for a week long conference back in the East, and he was left home alone. Dany had called and texted him multiple times, each time getting no response. So she called a cab over and rode to his house, she knocked and even yelled his name at the front door, but to no avail did anybody answer. She should’ve checked if the door was actually locked, now that she thought of it. The door wasn’t even locked, which worried Dany then. She went upstairs to his room, and that was when she heard it. The lewd slaps, the loud moans, the banging of the headboard on the wall. Dany wanted to go back in time, to yell at past self for being so stupid, for walking in his bedroom, already knowing what she would find, and yet she still walked in. It was some girl with brown hair, who managed to open her eyes, only to find Dany standing there, her eyes filled with tears that were beginning to fall on her face. Drogo stopped his actions on the girl and turned, his eyes widening at being caught. 

_ “Let me explain..”  _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “Explain?! Tell me how you could possibly explain this? To make it seem like it’s not really what it is?” Dany shook her head and left the room, not caring that she could hear the random girl calling out for Drogo, as Drogo rushed to put his clothes on and chase after Dany. he managed to catch up to her, grabbing her upper left arm and turned her around to face him. 

_ “Let go of me! Don’t presume to touch me ever again!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Don’t talk to me like that!” He had roared out to her, his voice booming through her ears, startling her. “I just needed an outlet, and she was there for me. That’s all.”  _ _   
_ _   
_ __ “You think that suddenly justifies everything you’ve done? You’re a liar and a cheater, Drogo. I’m done with you.” Turning away, Dany left before he could say anymore offending words to her. She didn’t expect to be grabbed by her hair and pushed against the wall. 

_ “I’m nowhere near done with you.” He spoke through clenched teeth, that were being bared to her one minute, then on her neck the next.  _

_ “Let go of me, you stupid bastard!” She tried to escape, she punched, kicked, grabbed, whatever she could do to leave. But she was nothing but a small animal trying to escape the grasps of a huge tiger. His mouth and teeth were all over her neck, as his hands made their way to rip her sweater off.  _

_ “Stop it Drogo, let go of me!” She cried out. Just as he was about to rip off her bra, he stopped and yelled in pain, holding his back. He stepped away from her, which allowed Dany to see that it was the girl he’d been fucking earlier that hit him with a bat she’d found. She was about to swing a second time when Drogo grabbed the bat and threw it to the other side of the room, and slapped her, hard enough for her to fall to the ground.  _

_ “You need to leave. Now! And don’t you tell anybody of this. This is between me and my girlfriend only. Do you understand?!” The poor girl was reduced to a fit of cries and sobs as she nodded in response, before fleeing the room. Dany swallowed, fear taking over her as she was left alone with her abusive boyfriend. There was no hope of escape for her, with Drogo closing the door and lumbering towards her.  _

_ “Drogo… please..” She tried pleading with, shaking her head at him as the tears flowed freely. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her as easily as one could lift up a small and simple book.  _

_ “You don’t tell anybody anything that happened here, do you understand me? Tell me you understand!” He shook her in his hands as he yelled. She nodded, choking as she tried to breath and grab around the hand that broke her access to oxygen. He dropped her eventually, leaving her heaving for air on the floor and choking as she cried. He turned away from her, shaking his head and muttering something, bringing a hand up to his nose bridge and pinching it. Dany saw the baseball bat laying on the other side of the room. If she crawled quietly, she’d be able to reach it. Keeping an eye on her abuser, she quietly dragged herself across the room and secured her hand over the bat. Standing up on shaky legs, she positioned the bat over her right shoulder and swung it, flinching as she heard the loud ‘thump’ of the bat making contact with Drogo’s head. As soon as it did, Dany wasted no time in swinging the door open and running out, practically throwing herself off the stairs as she raced to open the front door and run, as far away as she could.  _

Flinching, Dany shook her head and sat up on her bed. Everytime she thought about that time, another part of her cracked. She had reported Drogo to the authorities, as they managed to track down the girl he’d been cheating on her with to provide further proof of his crimes. A few weeks after the incident, Drogo’s family had moved away, and Dany couldn’t have been more relieved. She’d been so young, she was still young now. But it was something no sixteen year old should have to experience. She found out almost a week after that Drogo had been held back several times for behavioral issues amongst his peers, which explained so much. 

When she’d told her uncle about everything, starting from the beginning of her disastrous relationship, he’d been so distraught, and Dany was half scared to death that he’d worry himself to death over her. He’d apologized to her so many times, even though he’d done nothing wrong. He apologized for being disabled that he couldn’t be there for her to help her, and she had a tough time trying to explain to him that nothing was his fault, that he shouldn’t be sorry for anything. She was the one who made her own decisions, nobody else.

Throwing the covers of her blanket, Dany stepped out of bed and into the kitchen to make herself some tea, hoping it would soothe her enough to make her sleep. She half wished sometimes that there would be some sort of tea she could take that just magically wipes away all the bad memories. But then again, Dany might as well have wished to get amnesia, and wipe away all memory since she was 6 years old. 

\----------

For someone so quiet, Jon thought she looked as if she was about to explode with frustration in front of him. 

It was the fifth time in class today that he’d asked her for help on his work, for the  _ third day in a row _ . But it wasn’t like it was his fault. He actually knew how to do most of the stuff that he’d ask for help for, but she just wasn’t budging in opening herself up to him. Not that he’d actually done anything to get her to open up, but she was making it increasingly difficult to make friends with her. 

“I really mean no offense by this, but how did you even get into this class in the first place?” She asked him, flipping the pages of the textbook to the correct page where the answer was plainly written on, and pointed to it for him to write down. 

He let out a nervous chuckle (why was he nervous again?) and brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “You know, that’s a good question actually. I ask myself the same thing everyday. ‘Cause it looks good on my resume, I guess?” She still looked at him in disbelief, but decided to drop it, shrugging her shoulders. He decided to try his chances again. “You’re really smart, y’know that?” He was pretty sure he’d said that to her before, but oh well. 

She paused for a second, before shrugging her shoulders again. “Not really, but thanks I guess.” 

_ Oh, she's the quiet, insecure type.  _

That made things a little bit harder for Jon, but he was up for a good challenge. Especially when he’d win money in the end of it all. Just as Beric had said, he’d get her to crack. 

“Oh c’mon. You have to know that. I’m even sure you have top marks in all your class. Plan on graduating as valedictorian?” She paused again, and he could barely notice the change inside of her, as she spoke.    
  
“Do you always switch between your personalities? You there’s a medical disorder for that?” She answered him with her own questions instead, quite rudely, if he might add. 

“Is there? Didn’t know that. Care to indulge me on my ‘personality switching’ disorder, doctor?” He flashed his award winning smile that showed his perfectly straight and white teeth. She only rolled her eyes at him, not affected at all, which was the complete opposite effect he had hoped for. 

“You go from ‘school’s bad boy’ that drinks and smoke and vapes and doesn’t do his homework and ditches class, to ‘popular jock’ who has all the girls and his football team surrounding him, to just ‘sweet and innocent boy’ who just needs help on every single question asked in his AP science class. Are you like this in all your classes?” 

He smiled at her. “You think I’m sweet? Aw thanks Daenerys, I don’t get that a lot.” He could’ve sworn he heard her mutter under breath something along the lines of  _ “for a good reason too”, _ but he paid no mind to that. 

“Okay, no, not the point. Far from the point actually” she raised one of her, what he’s come to notice, full-of-life eyebrows at him. She may be quiet and shy, but he could see glimpses of the fire within her, and emotions. 

“You’re not so perfect yourself you know. You go from ‘shy and isolated girl’ who doesn’t speak a word in class, sits in the corner of the room, uses her eye-catching hair to cover her face, to some sort of dragon lady. You’re very defensive and rude for someone so shy.” he finished, crossing her eyes and leaning back in his chair. 

“That last part’s only because you’re so annoying.” Jon sat back up, his mouth opening to defend himself. “No, be quiet. This is the third day in a row you’ve sat next to me and the fourth time you’ve asked me for help on  _ every single  _ question your eyes happen to read. It’s so obvious you’re just using me for answers. So tell me, why is it that the famous Jon Snow Stark finally starts to notice who’s in class beyond those who aren’t part of his popular group?” 

Jon’s mouth hung open at her accusation and question. “You really are rude, you know that? And is it so wrong for me to want to make new friends every now and then. We’re in our senior year of high school, I wanna make the most of it. Guess the same can’t be said for you.” And with that, he crossed his arms and sat back in his chair again, huffing a breath out, which earned him a snort and an eye roll. 

“You act like a child sometimes. And  _ did you know  _ you say that a lot?”    
  
“Say what?”    
  
“ _ Y’know that?”  _ She dropped her voice lower to mock him. 

“I do  _ not  _ sound like that!”    
  
“Oh, but you do. Why do you keep insisting if I know it or not? It is because you don’t know anything yourself?”    
  
_ You know nothing Jon Snow.  _

He cringed as he could almost hear Ygritte saying it to him.  _ God don’t bring that back up _ . 

“I just figured you didn’t know how you acted. Because you’re actually really fuckin’ sassy considering you know, you. I just needed some help on my homework. And I decided to ask you because I wanna break away from social circle a bit, make some new friends. So no, I’m  _ not  _ using you. I’m quite offended you would actually think that.” 

“If you needed so much help, just ask your parents to hire you a tutor, or go look around for one yourself.”    
  
“It’s funny that you mention that, because I think I actually have found myself a tutor, and she’s right next to me.” He watched as her eyes squinted at him and her mouth hung open the slightest bit. 

“You’re kidding”   
  
“Nope.” He answered, the ‘p’ popping out. 

“Why would I want to be your tutor again?” 

“Uh.. because you just want to help a fellow friend out from the kindness from your heart?” Her arms were crossed and she had an eyebrow raised at him, as if a silent way to say  _ ‘yeah, bullshit’.  _ “And because I’ll pay you?” That seemed to catch her attention, her eyebrow lowering back down and her hands falling down slightly. She pondered his proposition. 

_ She needs money.  _

He found himself wondering what her situation at home was like. She didn’t look to be the money-hungry type, but then again, she didn’t look to be a sassy girl with a mouth that spits out fire, and  _ lo and behold  _ look how their conversation turned. 

“How much?” Her voice went quiet again, her shy demeanor coming back up. 

“Uh, $20 per session?” Her eyes went wide at the amount, which wasn’t even a lot, considering his family. _ She must have it rough at home if $20 per session is a lot to her.  _ But that wasn’t any of his business. 

“Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll help you out.”    
  
He let out a breath that he’d been holding ( _ why was he so relieved?).  _ “Perfect, when can you meet and where?”    
  
“Uh, I can do after school tomorrow, in the library? U-Unless you have practice, then we can reschedule it.”  _ What the hell?  _ Since when did she decide to go shy, Polly Pocket on him again? Was it something he said? Why did he even care so much? He shook his head. 

“No, no after school tomorrow works fine. I can have Grey lead the practice for tomorrow.” At the mention of his co-captain, he didn’t fail to notice the glint that washed up in her eyes, going away just as soon as it had come up. Something small burned in his stomach. The bell rang, and he grabbed his paper and shoved it into his bag, watching as Daenerys carefully set her’s in the folder of her binder, closing it, and placing it in her bag. 

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” He didn’t mean to sound as hopeful as he did. 

“Yeah, see you.”    
  
She walked past him, her hair hung over face as she walked out of the room, and Jon found himself feeling weird again. But he shook it off, finding pride in himself that his plan was beginning to work. He’ll have her under his charm in no time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who've noticed the change in the tags and rating, this story will have some dark elements to it, as we begin to see into Dany's past. I don't have every single little detail planned out fully yet, so the tags will vary and change as the story progresses. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.


	3. Give yourself a second chance, while giving somebody else their first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More insight is given on Jon and his family, and how the usual familial atmosphere is like, as well as more of Jon's traits. Jon and Dany have their first tutoring session, which ultimately leads to a much needed girl time between Dany and Missandei.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter holds lots of dialogue, but then again, almost all of my chapters will too. We'll see some more of how Jon and his family are like, just as the summary says. I was looking over my tags again and realized I originally intended for Jon to be Lyanna and Arthur Dayne's son, but that completely went past my head when writing this chapter (or story, more like). I do apologize for how much the tags are being changed, but that's just how things are going to be as I continue on with this story, adding more and more details. Anyways, thank you so much for all the positive feedback you've given me on this story, it's incredibly uplifting, especially seeing as this is my first Jonerys story. But I know you're not here to hear me ramble, so here is your chapter!
> 
> Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors.

“Hey Cedric” Daenerys greeted her uncle’s caretaker through the phone. 

“Daenerys! Hey, is everything alright?” He greeted her back. 

“Yeah, yeah everything’s fine. I just wanted to ask if you’re feeling better enough to watch over Aemon today after school? I have a tutoring session with a peer of mine, but I’m not entirely sure how long it will take, but not too long I imagine.”    


  
“Of course I can. It’s always a pleasure to hang with your uncle.” Dany smiled. She was forever thankful to have someone so kind like Cedric to help her with her uncle, and didn’t think of it as a burden (she was sure). 

“Thank you so much. I’ll leave all the stuff he needs out on the counter. I should be back before dinner.”    


  
“Take your time Daenerys. I’ll catch you later.” 

And with that, Dany turned her phone off, setting it on the kitchen counter to finish setting the rest of her uncle’s things for Cedric, who would be coming for the day around 8:30, as per usual, to wake her uncle up and get the day starting. Walking down the small hallway and turning the corner to the right, Dany quietly cracked the door to his room just a small bit, checking on him, before closing it again, and driving herself to school. 

___

“Arya, stop it! Give it back!” Jon scolded his little sister, chasing after her to take his phone that she had snatched from his hands. She ran past Robb, who had just walked out of the hallway and up the stairs. Jon jogged his way up the stairs, passing by his mother. 

“Jon, Arya, no running in the house!” She shouted after them. 

“Sorry mom!” Jon yelled over his shoulder, barely seeing her shake her head and continue her way down the stairs. “Arya, seriously, I’m going to be late for school!”    


  
“Since when did you care about that?” She yelled, and ran inside her room, shutting it behind her.  _ She’s not wrong.  _

“Arya open up!” He banged his fist on his little sister’s door. He decided to play along with her game, and pretending to be unable to open the door, though knowing very well he could push the door open with little effort. 

“No!” Was the answer he got in response. Jon sighed and gently hit his forehead on the door. 

“You leave me no choice then.” He said, and twisted the knob of the door and pushed, hearing his sister’s squeals as he picked her up and took his phone from her hand. “You’re really immature sometimes you know.” Jon winced at his last words, and chuckled to himself on the inside.  _ She wasn’t wrong either.  _

“That’s because you’re immature too.” She sassed back after gathering herself from the fit of laughter she was thrown into when tickled by Jon. 

“Am not!”    


  
“Are too!” 

  
“Am not!” Jon dismissed her accusation. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. 

“Mom and Dad are going to kill you when they find out you’ve been skipping school. Then they’re going to bring you back from the dead just to kill you again for your grades. Then again when they find out you’ve been drinking and vaping.” Jon gaped at her. 

“How did y-” 

  
  
“I just do Jon. But seriously, get yourself together before you get in some serious trouble. It’s a miracle they haven’t found out about any of that yet.” Okay no, he did not need to get lectured on by his 13 year old sister. 

“First of all, I don’t  _ skip  _ school. I still go to school everyday, just not to all my classes. And I don’t even drink that much. I only have like one or two when I go to parties, and I haven’t been to a single party in nearly a month and a half. Also, I’ve vaped, like what, twice? It’s not that big of a deal. You act like I’ve gone full over sometimes.”    


  
“That’s because you have. You weren’t like this four years ago.”    


  
“People can change in four years Arya.” Jon rolled his eyes and checked the time on his phone.  _ 7:42.  _ Yup, he was going to be late. “It’s too early for a talk like this. I’m gonna head to school. Tell mom and dad I’m not going to practice today.” Jon stood up and made his way to the doorway. 

“And where will you be instead, fucking some girl?”    


  
Jon popped his head back in her room. “Hey, don’t talk like that! Where’d you even get that language from?”    


  
“It’s 2019,  _ grandpa.”  _ She taunted. “Internet exists. Oh, and also from you, Robb, and Sansa.” She smiled wide at him, and Jon couldn’t his smile from appearing on his face too. 

“Whatever. See you later. Oh and Arya?”    


  
“Yeah?” 

  
  
“You’re starting to act like Sansa a lot more.” He winked at her and walked away, hearing her yell after him.  _ “Screw you Jon, I do not!”  _ _  
  
_

He loved his little sister to bits, the sibling that understands him the most despite the 5 year age difference between them. He just wished she would stop pestering him about his bad habits, or stop acting like Sansa. He didn’t need two of them in his life, gods knows. 

___

“Will you  _ please  _ stop looking at me like that? It’s seriously really creepy. You’re giving me Joker-esque vibes or something stop that” Dany told Missandei off during lunch. 

“I’m sorry but I can’t help it. Wasn’t it just a couple days ago you were saying  _ “Oh this isn’t one of those times where I become his tutor and suddenly we get closer and now he’s my boyfriend”  _ type of thing?” Missandei mocked her words. She was right, though Dany hated to admit. She did say just that a few days ago, that those kinds of things only happened in books and movies, but it wasn’t like she and Jon were  _ dating _ , or anything of the sort.  _ That  _ part would  _ never  _ happen, and Dany would make sure of it. 

“Okay first, I do not sound like that. And second of all, yes I did say that. But I was talking about us liking and dating and each other. That won’t even happen, I swear it.”    


  
“Mhmm.” Was all Missy cheekily said, her face failing to hide her teasing her smirk. 

“Missy, I’m serious. You know I can’t go through what happened before. I wasn’t fully ready then, and I’m not fully ready now. Jon and Drogo are pretty similar to each other. I plan on staying far away from him, feelings wise.” She didn’t want to risk getting hurt again like she did before. And before, Drogo seemed a completely nice and sweet guy, until things turned a complete 180 degrees. It was obvious Jon was a womanizer and a player to everybody, so just how much worse would things be if she were dating Jon? Dany figured it would be a lot worse, and that she’d be stuck miserable in a relationship where she couldn’t even trust her partner. 

Missandei sobered up, her face all showing concern and seriousness. “I get where you’re coming from Dany. I know it’s hard to open up and trust someone other than me and your uncle like that again, especially with your past. But you can’t be a complete hermit for the rest of your life, closing yourself off to the entire world and being distrustful of everybody. Trusting nobody is just as worse as trusting no one at all. Give yourself another chance.”

Dany thought about her words. While they rang true, just the thought of being vulnerable to anyone else besides her uncle and Missy, was absolutely terrifying. She doesn’t know what she’ll do if she gets hurt again. But this should be a topic saved for another time, she thought. She’ll have plenty of time to think about stuff like that. And it’s what she told Missandei. 

“Why are we acting like I’m going on a date again? I just accepted his tutoring offer because like you said, I could use the extra money to buy other stuff for me and my uncle when I go grocery shopping, and a few other supplies that isn’t food. And maybe even help put it towards my tuition for college, however much help that’ll be.”    


  
“I guess. Yeah, you’re right. But you never know though. If and when that situation finally shows itself, try to think of my words instead of immediately turning away from it, okay?” 

“Yeah” Dany nodded. “Okay.”    
  


___   
  


Dany sighed, looking up at the clock for the 3rd time. She was sitting in one of the tables in the library, slowly losing her patience as she waited for Jon to show up.  _ He’s 15 minutes late.  _ She was about to call him, but stopped when she realized she didn’t have his number. If he didn’t show up in 10 minutes, she was leaving, knowing she had better things to do than waste her time waiting her. Tapping her finger against her opposite arm that was crossed over the table, she sat, and watched as other people were coming and going in the library. Dany observed the other students, some she didn’t really know, but recognized well enough, and others she’d never seen before. A few of them were off to the side of the library, using the computers to do their work. Others were in the other tables that building had, doing their homework, reading, or chatting quietly. She saw as there several students in the aisles of the library, looking to check out some books. All this was just a few reasons why Dany loved the library so much. She loved being able to just sit and do what she needs, while hearing the soft noise in the background. She didn’t like it so much when she was getting stood up though (why did that make it sound like she waiting for her date?). 

Dany checked her phone again for the time.  _ He isn’t coming you idiot.  _ Sighing and shaking her head, she gathered her things and picked her backup off the floor, placing it on her lap to put her binder and notebooks away. Just as she slid her pen and pencil into her little pouch, there was a loud sound, the sound of a door slammed open and the noise of someone rushing inside. 

“Shit, sorry, sorry. Daenerys hey! Crap, sorry.” She watched with slight amusement as Jon ran to her from the door, running into a few students on the way, knocking down a cup of pencils, and getting ‘shushed’ by the librarian. He made it to her, his chest heaving from trying to catch his breath. She stood and watched him. His hair was all over the place and she thought she could see a tiny bit of sweat forming near his hairline. He was wearing a plain black shirt with wrinkles all over it, with his signature black leather jacket on top. His pants were of black denim jeans, with a similar colored belt to match. She couldn’t help but notice his pants and belt looked as if they’d been thrown on in haste, and for some reason that she didn’t know, Dany felt a slight twinge in her heart at the implications of what Jon was doing that caused him to be late. 

“Sorry, were you waiting a while?” He turned to her looking sheepish, catching her attention again. His face was slightly red, though she didn’t know if it was due to the fact that he was embarrassed for being late, he was trying to catch his breath, or he knew that she probably knew where he’s been. 

“Only 20 minutes.” She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, trying to make him feel bad a little. It worked, when she noticed his slight wince. 

“Sorry, again. Uh, do you wanna start?” He clapped his hands together in front of him, then took the chair next to her and sat down. Dany grabbed her bag again to take her stuff out, placing it on her side of the table as he did the same on his. 

“Okay, which subject do you want to cover first?” 

“What about our AP Environmental class first? Get that out of the way?” He made a move to grab his science notebook, and took some papers out of it. Dany nodded in agreement, taking her own notebook out and seeing what must be done in his. 

___

“No, no, no, you put this set of numbers here.” She pointed with her pencil to the correct side of the equation. “Here, like this.” She took his paper and wrote lightly the correct equation.

“Oh, that makes so much more sense now.” Jon wrote exactly as she did, making sure it was all correct. They had managed to complete his science and literature homework, and decided to move on to the dreadful subject of calculus.  _ AP  _ Calculus at that. He could tell just by hearing Daenery get frustrated over his constant and repetitive (and purposeful) mistakes that she was about to ask the same question she had before, how he had gotten into AP Calculus. 

Each time he made the same mistake, he could feel her frustration with him rising, though  _ gods bless her _ for doing her best to not show it and stay calm and patient with him. For some weird reason, his mind decided to think of Theon and their dumb bet at that moment. Jon was never one to back down from a challenge, but he was having a struggle trying to find ways for her to accept a date from him. Even if it was just one, it was all he needed to start working his charm. He should find out where she usually sits at lunch, and who she usually sits with. If he could find her group of friends, or friend as he’d seen with her the day he saw her, he might be able to garner their support and assistance in asking out Daenerys. Or he could just straight out ask her and see what she’d say, but Jon doubted he’d get the answer he wanted through that option. 

“You’re not even paying attention are you?” Daenerys’ tone of voice broke him out of his trance, and his eyes settled on her’s, as an eyebrow raised above the right one. 

“Nope. I am not” He admitted. She sighed, setting her pencil down and sitting back in her chair. Her silver blond hair hung halfway on her face, covering the half that was closest to Jon. She blew a small, steady stream of air through her mouth, and crossed her arms, looking at nothing in particular in front of her. 

“Maybe we should take a break” He suggested, turning the seat so it was facing her’s. 

“Yeah, maybe we should.” Her reply came out short and clipped. 

“Oh, uh here. I figure I’ll just give it to you now.” He took his wallet out and grabbed the money he needed and handed it to her. Her eyes went wide when he offered it. 

“That’s $40” She stated. 

“Glad you can count” he countered sarcastically. She squinted her eyes at him and sneered. 

“You said $20  _ per session.  _ That’s more than $20.” Jon sighed. Why won’t she just take the damn money? 

  
  
“You’re right, it’s double the $20 I said. But just think of it as like a small ‘first session gift’ from me. Just take it okay? It really won’t affect me at all.” He brought the money closer to her, but he watched as she hesitated to take it, her eyes flickering up to meet his first, then the money, then finally using her hand to take it. Her fingers gently closed over the edge of the $40, and he retracted his hand, bringing it back to his side, while she folded the money and put it in the smallest pocket of her backpack. 

“Why would you do that?” A strand of her hair fell in front of her face, and Jon felt his own hands twitch and move up, but stopped himself before he could do anything stupid. She moved the strand out of the way on her own. 

“Just felt like being nice. Is that such a bad thing?” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

“It’s kind of.. I don’t know” 

“Oh come on. Kind of what?” Her eyes wandered around the library and her lips pursed.  _ She really has a thing for not looking people in the eyes huh?  _ He kept the thought to himself though. 

“Out of character” she deadpanned. Her 

“Out of character?” He repeated. She nodded, taking her lower lip into her mouth and biting it. He feigned an offended reaction, hanging his mouth open agape slightly and bring a hand up to his heart. 

“You wound me. I’d like to believe I’m not  _ always  _ a complete asshole.” 

  
  
She looked away from him again, this time, focusing her eyes on her shoes, which were a pair of dirty white converse. She mumbled something underneath her breath. 

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch what you said.” Jon leaned forward a small bit in order to hear her better. 

“I said  _ thank you _ .” She spoke louder, but as she turned around to face him, she was met with his face only inches away from her’s. He noticed her flinch as she scooted away from him slightly and that was when he pulled away, sitting back in his own chair (more like slumping, was the correct term) and crossing his arms. It caught up to him that things were and are starting to feel a bit weird between the two. 

“We should finish up the session, I gotta get going soon.” She said quietly, opening her notebook back up again. 

Jon went along with it, and copied her actions with his notebook, resuming where they left off. 

  
  
  


Nearly a half hour later, Dany decides it’s best that they wrap things up. She feels the slightest bit of disappointment, though she refuses to acknowledge to herself why she does. “I think we should leave things here for now, pick up on this stuff next time.” She picked her phone up and glanced at the time, and checking if she got any missed calls or texts from Cedric relating to her uncle. She didn’t, to her relief, and also saw that it was nearly 6 pm. Jon arrived (late) around 3 o’clock, which meant they’d been studying for almost 3 hours. Her eyes went wide as she turned to look at him. He was putting his stuff away in his backpack, which he then slung over his left shoulder. 

“So when can I expect to meet up again?” He asked her, but his attention was on his phone, his thumbs flying all over the screen as he texted someone, she guessed. 

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to check in with my uncle, see when would be a good time to do it.” And Cedric. But she didn’t add that part. He just needed to know she wasn’t sure yet when they could meet again for another session. He nodded his head, his eyes still fixated on his phone screen. 

“Cool. Can I get your number then?” 

Her eyes immediately widened then narrowed, looking at him as if he’d just told her that an army of dead men were going to take over the world and they were all going to die. He glanced up to look up at her, glancing down to his phone, before shooting his head straight up, meeting her eyes. 

“To, you know, text when we can meet and stuff, what would be a good time to do so..” He trailed off, gesturing his phone forward to her.  _ Of course,  _ she thought. What was she thinking? He had asked a reasonable and innocent question, there was no need for her dramatic reaction. 

“Uh, yeah sure.” She took the phone that he held out in his hand to her and punched her number in, then her name. She caught herself just in time as she was giving his phone back, her heart stopping for a second as she realized she had put her name in as ‘Dany’ and not ‘Daenerys’. She snatched it back from him and made the correction, then gave it back, ignoring his questioning look. She repeated his action, giving him her phone to enter his number into her phone. He gave her her phone back and whipped is back out of his pocket. 

“Just tell me when you can meet again.” Was all he said before focusing his attention back on his phone and leaving the table, and exiting the building. Dany found herself staring after him, until he walked away far enough from the library and turned a corner, and she could no longer see him. She looked back to her phone that she was clutching with both her hands and saw that the screen was still on his contact. Dany felt a weird feeling wash over her as she noticed he had entered his contact name as ‘Jon Snow ;)’ with a winking emoticon. She didn’t know if she liked the particular feeling, and decided that no, she did not. She exited from his contact, not bothering to change it, and instead scrolling until she found her best friend’s contact. 

“Hey Missy! Do you think you can sleepover tonight?”    
  


___

“Okay you have to tell me  _ everything _ . What happened?” Missy questioned her as soon as she and Dany had finished up cleaning up after dinner with her uncle, and locked themselves in Dany’s room for interrogation, as Dany liked to call it. 

“I tutored him, that’s all. It was a bit frustrating in some parts, but he managed to understand the gist of everything. I still see it as one of the world’s top mysteries as to how he got into the AP classes he’s in.” Dany leaned over and grabbed a chip from the bag of chips that Missy had brought with her. 

“Well he is a Stark. His parents are  _ insanely _ rich. They probably paid for him to get into them. Did you hear he was studying to take over his dad’s business with Robb in the future?” Missy’s eyes went wide with excitement, though why, Dany didn’t know. She shook her head. 

“No, I didn’t. But that’s cool. I’d love to major in business one day. But it also kinda scares me for his dad’s business’ future. He has a  _ looong  _ way to go before he becomes CEO.” She reached for another chip to pop into her mouth. Missy nodded in agreement with her. 

“That’s probably true. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have to stay as long in business school though as most do. His dad’s most likely teaching him and his brother a lot. Probably already starting to set him up for that future right now.” Missandei looked up and met Dany’s eyes, before the two girls burst into laughter, having similar thoughts.

When they recovered from their fit of giggles, Missy asked her again. “Is that all you guys did today then?” Dany held a finger up, telling her to wait as she chewed and crunched on the chips in her mouth. Then she answered. 

“That’s all we did Missy, I’m serious. What, you think we ended up making out or something? That’s never gonna happen. And I told you I don’t like him anymore. I’m completely over him.” Missy quirked an eyebrow up at her and stared her right in the eyes. They both knew she was lying. But Dany denied it anyway. “I don’t! I seriously do not. He spells out trouble for me, which I’m pretty sure is the only word he can spell correctly” she joked. Missy held her hands up, ‘surrendering’, but Dany knew this would not be the last time she’d be asked this. Changing the topic, Dany decided to flip the spotlight on Missy. 

“Soo… how are things with Grey?” She smirked as Missy’s eyes widened before returning back to normal. A small blush took over her face and a sparkle caught her eye. 

“Well… we’ve been talking a little bit more, and he’s so damn cute! Like, seriously, he does this little smile where it starts one side and it looks like he’s trying to hide it, but then it just spreads into this big one that lights his entire face up. It’s so endearing. Oh! And he asked to come watch their team’s first football game of the season in a couple weeks. And we may or may not have switched numbers…” 

“Oh my gosh, really? You guys move pretty fast huh? I’m really happy for you Missy. Although I’d really like to meet him before you guys decide to actually make it official.” Dany wiggled her eyebrows teasingly at her friend, who giggled and blushed, before swatting her arm playfully. 

“Stop that!” They continued giggling well into the night and early morning, talking and gossiping with each other about things that they had heard and seen. 

___

“Jon, where were you after school today? We were told you skipped practice” His mother asked him as they were eating at the dinner table. His parents were both looking at him intently, while the rest of his siblings could care less, and continued gobbling down their meals. Jon glanced towards Arya, who looked up and winked at him, so he glared at her. 

“I thought Arya told you guys?” His father shook his head. 

“No, she didn’t say anything.” His voice trailed off, looking questioningly at Arya who purposefully ignored him, and continued eating. Jon sighed. 

“I was in the library, studying with someone.” As soon as the last sound of his sentence came out of his mouth, his siblings burst out laughing, Robb chuckling at him, Arya outright laughing, Sansa giggling, Bran snorted, and Rickon simply laughing because the rest of his siblings were. His parents, however, kept a serious face on and looked at him. Jon glared at his siblings. “Seriously? I  _ was  _ studying!”    


  
“Right. You? Studying? Sorry Jon, but it’s still September, April 1st is still a long ways away” Arya chortled at him. Jon turned to his parents. 

“Mom, Dad, I’m serious when I say I was studying. Honestly.” He didn’t want to admit the fact that he was actually getting tutored by some girl in one of his classes, simply for the fact of saving his ego from his siblings. 

“And who were you studying with exactly?” Arya spoke up again, and Jon almost kicked her foot underneath the table. Almost. He settled for sneering at her instead.

“Didn’t I tell you this like  _ this morning? _ Whatever, I was studying with this girl in my environmental class.” Jon’s appetite went down, and he found himself picking his fork at the sliced carrots on his plate. He heard Robb snort to his left. 

“Ya sure it was ‘studying’?” 

“Yes I’m sure it was studying!” 

“And what were you two studying about son? And don’t lie to us. You’re mother and I know of your actions at school. That’s a separate talk we’ll have for a different time.” His father crossed his arms, and Jon shut his eyes and blew a steady stream of air before opening them again.  _ That is not going to be a fun talk.  _

“Mother, father, I am being as honest as I can be when I say I was studying in the library.”    
  
“What about the girl, what was she doing there?” His mother quizzically asked. Jon could feel his patience beginning to wear thin. Whatever his punishment was, he knew it would only be worse if he lied to his parents. Taking a deep breath in, Jon ignores his siblings and turns full towards his parents. 

“She’s my tutor” 

Jon watched as his parents face went from straight seriousness, to one of surprise, they’re eyebrows raising with their widened eyes. 

“Your tutor?” His mother asked in disbelief. 

“Yes, my tutor. She’s been helping me in science a lot, so she suggested I get a tutor for myself, and that’s when I asked her. I’m paying her $20 per session, and today was the first we met up for one.” Jon did his best to school his expression into one of impassiveness. His parents’ reaction, however, was not one he was expecting. 

They sighed and smiled widely at him, almost as if they were..  _ proud (?) _ and relieved of his actions for once. His thoughts were confirmed when his mother spoke. “Really? Oh, Jon you don’t how proud and happy that makes us.” As if to add effect, his mother placed a hand over her heart, while his father nodded. “It’s good to see you finally starting to take actions for your own education, without us having to intervene”. Jon winced slightly. He knew his father didn’t mean those words in a bad way, but they still stung somewhere deep down. 

His siblings broke their silence and began chattering to each other, Robb looking at Jon with a raised brow. “Got yourself a tutor huh?” 

“Yes, I did Robb. You proud of me too?” Jon sardonically asked. 

Robb chuckled. “Very much little bro” and clapped a hand over his left shoulder, which Jon shrugged off and sneered at Robb. “One year Robb. That’s it. It’s barely a year of an age difference. And yet we’re in the same grade” Jon said through clenched teeth. Robb liked to tease Jon about being barely a year older than him, but Jon tried not to take too much care into it. Jon was younger than the rest of his peers simply because he skipped a year of elementary school, which put him in the same grade as Robb. He didn’t even know it was possible to skip a year of elementary school, how smart does a kid have to be to do that? His mind starts to wander to other places, and suddenly he finds himself wondering whether Daenerys was his age, or older, like everyone else. 

“So can we meet her?” The voice of his mother broke his thoughts away. 

“I’m sorry, what, what was that? Meet who?”  _ Oh no, very bad. Very, very bad.  _

“You’re tutor? We wanna meet the girl who has such patient” His father joked. Jon glared at him, but he kept laughing to himself anyways. He really did not want to them to meet her. 

“I don’t know. She’s kinda, really shy so it might be hard for me to get her to talk to you guys.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, Jon thought. She was a really quiet person. 

“Oh, but she talks to you?” Sansa piped up suddenly. 

“You don’t know how long it took me to get her to even look my direction” he exaggerated. “I don’t even know why you want to meet her. You act like she’s my girlfriend, which she’s not”  _ yet.  _

“Calm down Jon, they just want to meet her, is that so bad?” Robb, the perfect child, defended. Jon seemed to be full of glares tonight, as he gave one to his brother. 

“Yes, yes it is. She’s just my tutor. I don’t see the big deal in all of this. She’s really shy and really quiet. I didn’t even know she existed until a few weeks ago. The point here is that I’m actually seeking help for my education, like dad said I was. That’s what’s important. Not who it is. She’s really smart, if that was what you were wondering. But you’re not meeting her, because I’m sure she doesn’t want to meet you, and I don’t have the time or energy to set that up for you guys either.” Jon finished his rant to find everyone at the table looking at him, as if he were a child whining about not being able to get his favorite toy. 

“May we at least know her name?” His mother calmly asked, ever the mediator. 

“Her name is Daenerys. I don’t know what her last name is.” His mother nodded. The table went quiet again as his siblings finished their meal. Jon rolled his eyes, turning his shame for ruining the family dinner into frustration for being interrogated like that. He stood up from his chair and took his plate to the sink, leaving it in there, then walked upstairs to his room. 

“I’m not washing the dishes tonight” He yelled as he got to the top of the stairs, opening the door to his room then shutting it behind him. 

Downstairs, his family was quiet as they cleaned up after their meal. Robb decided to wash in Jon’s place, grabbing the sponge out of its container, and Sansa cleaning the table. Their mother helped Rickon and Bran put their dishes into the sink, while Arya grabbed a glass of water to drink. 

“So” Sansa broke the silence. “Can I sleep over at Jeyne’s tomorrow night?” 

___

Up in the safety and privacy of his room without his family pestering him to death, Jon was able to relax on his bed. Going on his phone, he absentmindedly scrolled through his instagram, liking pictures, tapping through stories. He tapped on his dms, seeing that he had 15 unread messages. A couple were from group chats he’d been added into that he’d muted, simply because they were people that he had never talked to, and only wanted to befriend him for his status in school. The others were from a bunch of girls he had talked to before (and maybe made out with once or twice) and were wondering when they could ‘talk’ again. Jon left most of them on read, as he usually did to show he wasn’t interested anymore. However, he did respond back to one or two of them, the ones that stuck out to him the most. Checking on his profile, Jon smiled to himself, seeing his follower numbers grow. He clicked off the app, when he got an iMessage notification. Clearing instagram out, he selected his messages, and clicked on his newest one. It was from Val. He read her newest message. 

Val:  **when do u think u can drive back here? I miss u ;( its been too long**

Jon sighed. The last time he’d seen her was about a month before school started. He drove his motorcycle his parents had gotten him the year prior up to where Val had moved to, Thenn Valley High School, which was farther up North than Winterfell High was. They’ve been texting each other nonstop weeks before, when Jon made the rash decision to drive up and visit her. They’d done things that day back at her place that still made his blood rush south when he thought of it. Jon wasn’t sure whether he missed her as well, or missed the feel of her around him, as sort of an outlet. 

Jon:  **idk, school’s keeping me busy rn. Soon though, Thanksgiving break?**

Her reply was immediate. 

Val:  **that’s so far away. you can’t come just for the weekend or smth? gods, im so wet thinking about you rn ;)**

Jon turned his phone face down on his mattress as he closed his eyes, trying his hardest  _ not  _ to think about he and Val like that. What they did was supposed to be a one time thing. Besides, they had broken up nearly a year ago, which makes it even more important that they don’t meet up again. But still, he could not stop his body from reacting to her words. 

Jon:  **what we did was a one time thing, Val. we can’t do it again.**

Val:  **so u regret it now? You seemed to think the complete opposite over the phone the other week**

Jon:  **im serious val. We can’t do it again. I’m sorry**

Val:  **or maybe you’ve already found yourself a replacement there Snow. bet they aren't as good as me though huh. whatever, i’ll see if i can visit u for christmas break. maybe even ring in the new year with a ‘bang’ ;)**

Jon shut his phone, tossing it farther away from him on his bed. He shut his eyes, placing his hands over his forehead and laid there. He really should start on his homework. That would be the smartest, most logical thing to do right now. But he really wasn’t feeling it, instead feeling lazy to get up and off his bed, so he laid there instead. The words Val texted earlier still fresh in his mind, and his brain started drifting back to their time together. Unconsciously, his hand drifted down to the hard bulge in his pants, palming it.  _ Gods that felt good.  _ It had been a while since he had gotten laid. 

Right as he was about to slip a hand through his unzippered jeans, his phone rang with a text notification. Growling quietly, he whipped his hand out, using his other hand that wasn’t about to grab his cock, and read the message. 

Daenerys:  **I can meet at 3:30 pm on Thursday if that’s okay with you..? It’s fine if it’s not, we can reschedule a different time.**

_ Thursday. Thursday. What the hell was he doing after school on Thursday?  _ Jon thought, racking his head, feeling as if he had something, but couldn’t remember. He was certainly not expecting her to text back to him. In full truth, he’d forgotten all about her. But no he felt slightly ashamed and embarrassed, though why, he didn’t know. It wasn’t like she knew what he was doing before she texted. But yet it felt so  _ dirty,  _ and  _ wrong.  _ As if he’d been caught or something. But he replied back to her, shaking his dramatic thoughts out of his head. 

Jon:  **Thursday works great for me. see u then**

He cringed as he pressed the ‘send’ button. He was going to be seeing her in science tomorrow, and tomorrow was only Wednesday. He figured she wouldn’t pay much mind to it though. Getting the text from her reminded him of the homework that laid unfinished in his backpack, which completely put out his arousal. Groaning, he threw his legs over the edge of the bed, standing up and moving to his bag to take out his work, knowing he’s gone completely soft by now. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm currently writing the fourth chapter as I post this, so it should be published sometime this week, should everything with my personal life work out okay. I'm not sure how 'slow burn' I'm going to make this story, but I do intend on drawing some things out, to increase chemistry, drama, etc. but knowing me I'll get just as impatient as you guys to get Jon and Dany together ;) also before I get any hate or criticism for Jon's actions at the end, he's a barely 18 year old boy, making him a teenager still. He has his impulses and needs, and sometimes a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do (not that I would know, I'm not a guy).


	4. Time only heals if we work through it now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missandei's worried for her friend's health, much to her dismay. Meanwhile, Dany learns more about her family. Jon's beginning to doubt his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise chapter that I managed to fit in today. Hope you like it.

_ I am so fucking tired.  _

That’s all Daenerys Targaryen could think of as she trudged her way through the hallway, finally reaching her locker. After a few failed attempts, she managed to get the lock open and stuffed her textbooks in, grabbing what she needed out. She rubbed her eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them. She’d barely gotten any last night, for the same reasons why she couldn’t sleep all the other nights. But she usually wasn’t this tired. Her stomach decided to grumble at that exact moment, as if to tell Dany the reason why.  _ Gods,  _ it’s been so long since she’s had a proper, full meal. Of course, she eats her dinners with her uncle, but she usually eats so little throughout the day, it’s as if she isn’t as hungry come dinner time. 

“Dany!” 

  
  
“Huh? Oh _ fuck!  _ Missandei! I didn’t see you there.” Dany jumped at the sound of her friend’s voice, resulting in her dropping a couple books out of her locker. 

“I’ve been standing her for like 5 minutes now calling you. Are you okay?” Her voice was laced with genuine concern. Dany waved her off. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Just really tired is all. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”    


  
“You look worse than usual.” She pointed out. 

“Thanks” Dany replied, dryly. 

“That’s not what I meant. I know it’s hard for you to fall asleep, but you don’t look like this. You look like you woke up from the dead or something, and want to go back.”    
  
_ Sometimes I do.  _ “Missandei, I’m fine, really. I’m just tired, lack of sleep probably caught up to me.” 

Missy sighed, her brows sticking together in concern. “You should go to the doctor or  something if it continues to get this worse. You aren’t graduating valedictorian while you’re sleep deprived.”    
  
Dany hated to admit it, but her friend was right. She just didn’t know if she had the time or money to get herself checked out by a doctor. It wasn’t like she had a serious condition or anything. There’s always highschoolers such as herself who run on low sleep, and she does just fine. And she tells Missy just that. “I’m fine, really. Stop worrying about me so much Missy. Thank you for the concern, but it’s nothing. I’m okay. Leave it alone.” And with that, she shuts down the specific topic of conversation. They walk together in silence to their first period which they share together, listening to the buzz of noise of other students talking. 

“Anything with you?” Dany tries to start a conversation. She felt bad for shutting Missy down like that. Her friend was just trying to help, but she’d gotten impatient and snapped. Thankfully, her friend doesn’t seem to hold it against her, and Dany sighs on the inside, thankful for such an understanding friend. 

“Well… Grey asked me to come watch him at practice today.” Dany could feel her friend buzzing with excitement. “He said he was leading the team today because the captain wasn’t coming today.” Dany tries to play naive at Missy’s attempt to tease her by wiggling her eyebrows. 

“I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun watching him practice and lead his team around. Even more so at their first game” Dany does the same to Missy, teasing her. “And don’t look at me like that, where the captain goes is none of my business.” Missy doesn’t seem to believe her. 

  
“Alrighty then. But hey, you should come to the game with me. It wouldn’t hurt for you to take a break from homework. And I’m sure Cedric can take care of Aemon that night. And I don’t want to be alone in the crowd of students in the bleachers that night.”   
  


“I don’t know. I’ll see if I can. But that’s also precisely why I don’t like going to those types of things. There’s so many people. And it’s so loud.” Dany explains. 

“It’ll be worth it, I promise. Just one game.” Missy asks of her. Dany contemplates. 

“I’ll have to see first, but I’m sure I can come.” 

  
  
“Yay, thank you Dany.” Throwing an arm over her neck, Missy embraces her and Dany does the same back. Then the bell rings, indicating the start of school. They let go of each other and walk inside the door for their first class of the day. 

___

They were in the janitor’s closet, the sound of the fourth period bell ringing distantly, but Jon could care less. Not when he had he was stuck in the closet with one of the his school’s hottest girls, Arianne Martell. He has her pinned between him and the door, both of his hands cupping her face while hers were on his back, slowly making their way lower, as they all but devoured each other’s mouths. He leaned closer, grinding their bodies together, garnering a moan from her. His tongue clashed with hers, but it’s still the same as always. She submits to him, allowing him to take control over her, and for some reason, it turns him off. Jon is the first to pull away, but when they do, their breathing so heavily the temperature in the small increases more than it already has. Arianne speaks first. 

“Gods you’re good” she exhales. Jon smirks at her praise. It was one of many that he’d gotten before. She grabs her phone that fell on the floor and turns it on. “Shit, we’re really late for the next period. Can you meet after school today?” Her voice is sultry when she asks. Jon is about to say yes, when he realizes he’s got that tutoring session with Daenerys today. He was already very late to the session last week, so he might as well make it up to her today. He’s even brought her double the payment, just like last week. 

“Can’t. Have a thing after school today.” He peers in to the small mirror that’s in the room to check his appearance, making sure he’s presentable to go to class, then walks to the door, opening it and sticking his head out to make sure nobody is out there to catch them. Thankfully, the coast is clear, and he opens the door all the way. 

“When can I see you again then?” She asks, her backpack hanging off her left shoulder. Jon fails to catch himself, eyeing her visible cleavage thats pops over the top of her tight shirt. It’s on so tight, he swears he can see her nipples poking through the fabric and her bra. He clears his throat when she notices him staring. 

“Don’t know. Just catch me at lunch or something.” With that, he winks at her, then walks to his class, separating from her. 

  
  
  


He walks into his fourth period class, the one that he has with Daenerys, and sees that they have a substitute, making Jon goran on the inside. He hated substitutes. Unless they were the young, hot woman he liked to hit on, Jon would almost rather his normal teachers instead. Only because they know what to expect from him behavior-wise. Sighing, he scans the room, looking for one specific person, and his eyes narrow when they find her. She’s sitting with her head on hand, and it looks like it’s the only thing keeping her from falling face forward on the desk. He’s surprised at the slight of concern he feels looking at her. As he grabs the chair next to hers, she lifts her head up, eyeing him warily. 

“You’re late” She deadpans.

“No. You’re all just really early” He jokes. 

“Are you okay?” 

  
“Where have you been?” 

  
  
It takes Jon a second to realize they both asked each other a question at the same time. Apparently the same could be said for her. He decides to answer her question first, get it out of the way. 

“Where I was is none of your concern.” Jon didn’t intend for that to sound so harsh and rude, but with the way he worded it, he supposes it doesn’t matter. She looks at him and looks away. “Are you going to answer my question?” He probes. 

“I’m fine.” She all but spits out (not literally of course). He doesn’t know whether it was to get back at him for his rude reply, or if she did subconsciously. 

“You look like you’re about to collapse.” He states, which earns him a side glare. 

“I’m just really tired. That’s all. I’m okay.” 

“You should try getting some more sleep then” Jon tries to suggest. 

“Oh my god, I’ve never thought about that. Thank you doctor.” Her reply is so sardonic, her voice leaking with acid as she talks.  _ What’s gotten into her _ , he finds himself wondering. He raises both his eyebrows, surprised at her tone. “My health is none of your concern!” She ends up snapping at him. He almost flinches away, the fire in her voice making him feel as if he’d just been burnt himself. He’s starting to wonder if she has some sort of multiple personality disorder, when he realizes that that was what she had asked of him when they met. He thinks back to the conversation he had with his family the other night, when they asked if they could meet his tutor. Jon had said no, she was too shy for that. But seeing her act like this now, it was hard to imagine her so quiet. 

He does his work quietly next to her, while she all but sits there silently. At first it seemed like she was reading the back that was spread out in front of her, but he realizes she was staring at nothing in particular, since she hadn’t turned the page at all. He frowned, but said nothing, knowing he was only going to get the same response as before. 

“You’re not all that secretive you know.” 

He turns to look at her, but she’s still looking at her book. For a second, Jon thinks he imagined her saying that, her voice was so soft. “Did you say something?” 

  
  
“Everyone knows where you’ve been. I don’t know why you bother trying to hide it and play it off. It never works.” Her voice is monotonous when she speaks. He wants to ask if she’s okay again, but he holds himself off. 

“And what’s it to you, what I’ve been doing in my free time? Why should it matter?” He’s deflecting, she knows just as well as he. But she doesn’t comment, and instead turns back to her book, finally flipping the page. Soon, their class is ending as the bell rings. 

“I’ll see you after school.” It’s all he says before turning around to join his friends for lunch. He misses the way her eyes widen in memory. 

___

_ At least he’s not as late,  _ Dany thinks as her second thought. Her first? Well, she’s slightly too embarrassed to say. One minute she’s sitting in the library waiting for her tutee, the next, she’s being gently shaken awake. The first thing her eyes see when they’ve adjusted and cleared up is Jon looking at her, the concern visible on his face. She sits up immediately when she realizes what she’s been doing, and probably a bit too fast, as she hits her head against his. They both cringe at the sudden contact and pain. 

_ “Fuck!”  _ She hears him swear, holding his nose where she’d hit him. Dany’s eyes widen. 

“Sorry, sorry, I’m so sorry!” She apologizes, the words flying out of her mouth. The back of her head is throbbing from the pain, but she tries to focus on Jon’s instead, making sure his nose isn’t bleeding. “Are you bleeding? Oh my god I’m sorry. Here I’ll get you a tissue.” She walks quickly to avoid getting in trouble by the librarian for running, though it really shouldn’t matter looking at all the commotion she’d just caused. To the side of the library, there’s a box of tissues, and she swipes a couple out and walks fast back to Jon. He’s holding the bride of his nose, the palm of his hand trying to block any blood from dripping. He quickly grabs the tissues she holds out and presses them to her nose. He glances behind her and sees where she got them, and walks to grab more. Dany watches as he all but takes the box of tissues with him to the trash can at the front of the room, and cleans himself up. When’s he’s done, he returns the box back and washes his hands with the hand sanitizer on the desk, then returns to their table. 

Dany shakes her head. “Jon I’m so sorry-” She starts, but is interrupted when he lifts his hand up to cut her off. 

“Save it.” He says, and she fears that he’s angry with her. But he shakes his head, touching his nose lightly. “It wasn’t your fault. I probably shouldn’t have stood right over your head. Should’ve seen it coming.” His voice is tight when he says it, and Dany is sure he’s only saying it to make her feel better. 

“Still. I’m so-” 

  
  
“Stop apologizing!” He snaps, and his reaction surprises her, but it really shouldn’t. He has every right to be upset with her. “There wasn’t that much blood. You’re fine. Let’s just get started.” Dany nods in agreement silently, and for most of the session, there’s a quiet bubble between them. Except for her teaching him some things and correcting him, they don’t talk at all, with Jon staying completely silent, only nodding at her words. 

Dany worries that she’s ruined whatever friendship they were starting to form, but immediately kills that hope. Inside, she laughs bitterly. Of course they weren’t friends. What kind of hopeful, naive princess was she to think that maybe someone like him would be friends with her? She shouldn’t care this much about it. She shouldn’t care at all. Yet something inside her stings when she realizes that maybe, just maybe she hoped she could be friends with him. Gods, she can’t help but think that if her soul were a person, it would look much like a dark young girl, who’s experienced too much horror for people her age.  _ This isn’t a book or movie Daenerys. When will you realize any feelings you have are met unrequited? What will it take for you to realize that ‘hope’ is useless?  _

For a minute, Dany thinks she’s being overdramatic. That she’s overexaggerating the little accident between her and Jon. But when she looks at him, watching him scribble some notes down then solve a problem, she realizes that  _ no,  _ it wasn’t just that. It was everything else that had happened to her. Feelings were hopeless. Hope was useless. Love is a waste of time. Everyone she’s ever loved has been taken away from her, save Missandei and her uncle Aemon. But there was no point in wallowing. What would that bring back?  _ Who  _ would that bring back? The answer was nothing. Nobody. So Dany swallows her fears and thoughts up, and returns to her present situation, helping Jon Snow. 

___

They finish their session about an hour and a half later. Dany’s frustrated with him when he takes out $40 from his wallet again. She doesn’t even get a word out of her mouth, for as soon she opens it to make a protest, he’s gathering his stuff and practically storms out of the library, which only further adds to her frustration. Why was he being so difficult? He didn’t even bother asking when the next time they’d meet up again. She shouldn’t care so much though. Now she has an extra $40 to spend for her groceries next week. Gathering her stuff, she walks to the school’s parking lot, and enters her car. From a distance, she could see the football field, but not the people practicing. However, Dany knew that Missandei would be busy watching the team practice, so calling her friend wasn’t much of an option. She knew Missy would pick up, but Dany didn’t want to ruin her best friend’s evolving love life.

The drive to her apartment is relatively quiet. She has the radio turned on, and every so often when there’s a song that comes on she likes, she’ll quietly hum along with it. Soon, she’s in the apartment’s parking lot, and Dany smiles a bit when she sees her usual parking spot is still vacant. She takes her things with her, walking inside the building to the elevator and presses the button to her floor. The elevator dings, indicating to her that she’s on her floor. As she approaches her apartment door, she can hear the sound of soft music playing, the kind her uncle loves to listen to. Taking the key out of her bag, Dany twists the knob of the door open quietly, careful not to disturb. It’s only when she sets her things down and accidentally trips over something that her uncle’s attention is torn from the music. 

“Dany?”    


  
“It’s me uncle, don’t worry. Just tripped on something.” She picks up the item that caused her fall, making sure it wasn’t broken before setting it back down. 

“I was wondering when you were coming home. Tell me, how did your lessons go today?” Dany playfully rolls her eyes, though her uncle can’t see. 

“It wasn’t  _ that _ long. And it was, interesting, so to say.” Dany comes around and sits down on the couch that faces her uncle’s wheelchair. “But I did get $40 again.”    


  
“That’s wonderful to hear. Soon, maybe you can even open it up to any students. That’d be a great way to start earning some money.” Her uncle’s voice is croaky sounding from his old age. Dany briefly smiles. She wishes she could get a part time job to help her uncle pay off the apartment and other items. She keeps telling herself that trying to balance taking care of Aemon and do excellent work in school is busy enough, but it doesn’t seem that way. Dany feels, she knows, that something is holding her back. She just doesn’t know what. Instead, she makes a sound akin to a laugh. 

“Maybe one day. But one person’s enough to handle for now.” It dawns on her that she doesn’t have much homework to do. She has a few projects and an essay due, but the deadlines weren’t until a long time away. For now, Dany wants to spend her time with her uncle. “Uncle Aemon?” She calls to him. 

He hums in acknowledgment. “Yes?” Dany doesn’t know what to say, until her eyes land on a specific picture frame on the table. 

“Tell me more about my family.” She brings her knees up to her chest, and draws a blanket that’s lying on the couch over her, as she waits for her uncle to talk. 

“Hm. Your family? Where should I start… Oh. Your parents, how about that?” Dany nods, but frowns as she remembers her uncle can’t see her. 

“That’s fine.” His hands are laying in his hands, his finger rubbing shapes onto his other hand as he nods, then sighs. 

“Aerys and Rhaella. Oh, how I remember how happy your father was when he told me he’s found a girl. He was around the age you are right now, when I heard about his crush. Aerys was, an awkward young boy to say the least. He didn’t get his braces in until his first year of high school, and he wore glasses at the time, the poor boy. Definitely not what you youngin’s consider to be “fashionable” nowadays. Rhaella on the other hand, she was loved by so many. Admired. Your father went so far as to describe her as the ‘prettiest girl in the entire world’. He was absolutely enamored when he met her. I don’t know how the poor boy managed to, but eventually he came home telling me, or shouting more like, that Rhaella Hasty was his girlfriend. He was so proud of himself, I think he even shouted it through his open windows at one point. He brought her home, and back when I could still see, I just knew that there was something that would last forever between them, as young as they were. Rhaella, she was such a kind girl. So sweet and good hearted. I was proud that my son had chosen such a girl like her. A couple years later, and I was proven right, when they announced their wedding. There weren’t many people, just some close family and friends. But it was obvious it didn’t matter to them. I don’t think I’ve ever felt prouder then, than I had seeing them walk down the aisle, all smiles.

“A couple years later, they announced that they were having their first child. A boy. They were still quite young then, in their early 20s, but it didn’t matter to them. Aerys was very protective of Rhaella during her pregnancy. When Rhaegar finally came into the world, Aerys and Rhaella were ecstatic. They were the exact same when she was pregnant again, 7 years later with Viserys. When Rhaella was expecting her third child, it felt as if their hearts had grown with each child. As protective as Aerys was with Rhaegar and Viserys, there was something different that shifted with him when they were told they were expecting a baby girl. When you, Daenerys, came into the world, it’s as if all the lights of a thousand football fields had lit up his entire life. You were his youngest, his little princess, a perfect jewel in his eyes. And you had two older brothers to protect you. The five of you were the happiest I had ever seen. You stole the hearts of everyone that came to lay their eyes on you. You were so precious to your parents.”

At some point in her uncle’s retelling, Dany felt a pang of something in her heart, that was enough to make her eyes water. “They sounded… so happy.” Her voice broke with her last words.    
  
“And they were. I don’t know that there was ever a bad day in their lives when they were together.” 

  
  
“And what were Rhaegar and Viserys like?” 

“Rhaegar…. He was much like you are now. He had all the girls swooning for him, yes, but he was never interested in that stuff. No, he loved to read and sing. Where most boys loved to spend their time doing sports, Rhaegar would always be reading a new book every week, or learning a new song. He was a quiet young man, often kept to himself. He only had a few close friends, but he was very much a private person. I remember when your parents got him a guitar and piano for Christmas, and he practically lived in his room for the next month and a half after that. He was a good man, truly. 

“Viserys, on the other hand, wasn’t much interested in music and books as Rhaegar was. He loved to watch all sorts of theatre shows, plays, and broadways. In a way, he liked music. But he loved the element of live stage acting. He loved to write his own screenplays, so much he wanted to graduate college with a degree in theatre arts. He admired Rhaegar so much. The two were very close brothers. They would joke around from time to time about how one day, Viserys would be able to write his own theatre show and Rhaegar would be the one to produce music. They were inseparable. Viserys wasn’t as private of a man as Rhaegar, however. He hung out many times with his big group of friends. He liked to deflect sometimes, put on a tough exterior, but deep down his heart was pure with good intentions. Sometimes, he just felt misled. When you came, his tough exterior melted like hot gold. Rhaegar and he would always banter over whose turn it was to watch over you. They loved you dearly. Sometimes, I wonder what would’ve happened if they were still here, when you were mistreated so badly.” 

Dany winces at his last sentence, a single tear finally breaking free from its pool in her eyes, and rolling down her cheek. She winces because she thinks she knows what the answer to his last sentence might be. Because she’s heard so much about them. It’s part of what keeps her up at night. All the  _ what ifs _ to everything about her family. Would she even be this broken if they were still here? Chances are, no, she wouldn’t. They probably would have given her the best life imaginable. They would’ve made her feel safe, happy, loved, and secure. All things she longs for. They would’ve made her feel at _ home.  _ But they weren’t here. Rhaegar and Viserys weren’t here when she was abused by Drogo. Her mother wasn’t here to teach her all the things she needed to know about growing into a woman’s body. Her father wasn’t here to praise her on all her hard work. None of them were here anymore. And Dany was convinced she would never know what it felt to be loved so much by people she could barely remember. She’s surprised when she feels her uncle’s hand trying to find her hand, and when she gives it to him, he takes it, and the gentle pressure he offers, nearly makes her break, her lip quivering to suppress her tears. She’s glad he doesn’t mention anything else of the tragedy that broke their family. The one that threatens to break if she dares think too deep into it. 

“Thank you, uncle Aemon.” Her voice wavers, and she tries to take a deep breath, albeit a bit shaky, to prevent from crying. 

“Anything for you, my dear Daenerys. You’re never alone, don’t ever forget that.” She knows he can’t see her, but she nods her head, too scared to speak. And for a while they sit there, as they once again mourn those they loved and lost. 

___

Jon wants to bang his head against the wall, the table, anything to prevent from hitting Theon. 

“You’re making absolutely zero progress man. Gods, you’re getting so boring now. If you don’t end up making a move soon, I  _ will  _ up the money by double.” Theon tells him off, which he doesn’t really appreciate. Jon scowls at him, throwing him the finger. 

“Didn’t I tell you to stop bothering me about that? I’m making progress okay, it’s just taking some time. So quit fucking asking me about it all the damn time, and mind your own business until I say something about it.” Jon runs a hand through his hair and exhales. It’s the third time this week Theon’s asked him about their bet, and quite frankly, he’s getting really sick of it. 

“How hard can it possibly be Jon? You’re makin’ things harder for yourself, and I’m getting impatient. I wanna take blondie for a spin to. You can’t just keep hoggin’ her. That’s selfish. She looks good too. I’m bein’ nice by letting you go first. But I will if you don’t. 

  
Jon isn’t sure what it is that Theon says exactly or how he says it, but it’s enough for Jon to shoot him the darkest of looks, and he relishes in the fact that Theon flinches slightly from it. “Don’t fucking talk about her like that.” His words come out low and quiet, almost like a growl. Theon’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and it catches up to Jon that he is too. He isn’t sure why he got so defensive, but it didn’t sit right with him the way he spoke about Daenerys the way he did. He looks away from him. “I don’t wanna talk ‘bout this anymore. So stop asking me.” Theon looks as if he wants to say more, but decides to drop it. 

Jon turns his phone on, glancing at the time before shutting it off again. They’re at lunch now, with about 20 minutes left, and he’s got nothing to do. He knows he could just walk over and talk with his friends that’re on his team, but he finds that he doesn’t want to. He certainly doesn’t want to speak with Theon for some time, lest he ends up sending the guy to the nurse’s office. He feels his phone vibrate with a new text. 

Arianne:  **you free right now? ;)**

Jon is certain he knows why she’s asking, but he’s just not in the mood for it. He isn’t sure why, but since last week, he’s felt out of tune with himself. He tries to pinpoint when it started, but it all leads back to his second tutoring session with Daenerys, when she bumped him with her head and gave him a bloody nose. It wasn’t that big of a deal, so why was he so pissed off the entire time he was with her?  _ You were right Ygritte. I do and still know nothing.  _ He feels as if he should apologize to her, so without thinking, Jon whips his phone and shoots her a text. But he probably should have thought through it first, when he realized she was most likely in the same auditorium as him for lunch. He lifted his head up, scanning the room for her hair, the color acting as a beacon of light for him. Jon manages to catch a flash of silver from his peripheral vision. He walks over to her, ignoring his friend’s calls after him as he walked away. 

She seemed in deep conversation with her friend, the caramel-skinned girl with curly hair that he’d seen with her before, when he first saw her. Daenerys didn’t seem to him at first, but her friend did. It didn’t skip over him the way her eyes slightly widened at seeing him approach. He sat down on the seat next to Daenerys’, which got her attention. Her mesmerizing violet eyes enlarged in a similar manner as her friend’s, but she immediately schooled her expression. 

“Jon? What’re you doing here?” Her voice sounded strained, but still held the same softness it always had. 

“Jus’ wanted to talk. And apologize. I’m sorry for being such an ass to you in our last session. I don’t know why I suddenly got like that to be honest.” His hand lifted to his neck, rubbing the back of it, his face growing sheepish. Jon watched as she processed his apology, before she shook her head and squinted. 

“You shouldn’t be the one apologizing. It was my fault. I could’ve broken your nose or something. I understand why you reacted the way you had.”  _ Why won’t she just take his damn apology and stop apologizing herself? Was it that hard?  _

“I said stop apologizing already. Seriously, if you insist on saying ‘sorry’ so much, then fine, I forgive you.” He waited for a moment.  _ I swear to gods if she says sorry one more time.  _

“You’re forgiven as well. Is that what you came here for?” Her last sentence sounded wary. 

“No, actually. Just wanted to see if you were free after school tomorrow.” He saw as her eyes flashed wide, fear crossing through them. “Not-not like that, I meant” He rushed out. “Free as in, can you tutor tomorrow, free.” Jon felt a twinge of disappointment fill him when she relaxed, seemingly relieved. 

“Yeah, I am.” 

“Okay then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He got up from the uncomfortable seat when he heard her call out to him. 

“Is that all you wanted to say?”  _ Was she expecting him to say more?  _

“Uh, yeah. Yeah that was all. Why?” 

  
  
“You could’ve just texted me instead of coming all the way over here.” Her voice was flat as she spoke.  _ Dear gods, why, why , WHY did Theon have to give me the most stubborn girl in the school?  _

He shrugged instead of showing his slight irritation. “Don’t know. Felt like saying the apology in person would have been more, uh, meaningful I guess you could say.” 

“Okay. Bye.” 

Why did it always feel like he was at some sort of dead end whenever he spoke with her? Why on Westeros and Essos did Daenerys whatever-her-last-name-is have to be such a hard headed girl? Jon hated feeling like he was losing, he always had the competitive spirit in him. It was part of the reason why his coach and teammates chose him as captain of the varsity team. Because of his drive to win, no matter the odds or circumstances. Theon could have given him any girl, any girl at all in the school. But no, he had to point out the shyest, quietest, stubbornness (was that even a word?) and most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. Something inside him told him that he was getting closer to that goal of his though. Shouldn’t be too hard right? Wrong. Something else told him that somewhere along the line, his plan was going to be ripped into shreds. 

  
  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Since it's the second chapter this week, it will take the place of next week's chapter, as I am extremely busy all of next week so I don't know how much time I'll have for chapter 5. Thank you all for the nice comments and kudos, they truly mean so much to me. Persevere guys, I'll get these two souls together soon.


	5. I could make you happy make your dreams come true

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missandei sits Dany own for a deep and meaningful conversation, while Jon's parents sit him down for one too. Jon and Daenerys share an interesting moment with each other, one that has Dany flustered and panicked. An important question is asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to write another chapter despite how crazy this past week has been for me. I don't want to bombard you guys with stuff that probably means nothing to you all, but one news I do have is that I made it into one of the highest honor orchestras that's available for me. I also just had a bunch of concerts and rehearsals this week that made it harder for me. One more week full of finals then I'm free! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I definitely enjoyed writing it. Please excuse any mistakes, I wrote the last part in a quick hurry, not because I was in a rush, but I had so much things running through my brain as I wrote it and I just wanted to get it all written out.

“You never told me you had  _ his number!”  _ Missandei exclaimed, quite loudly into Dany’s ear, is she might add. Dany cringed slightly at the sudden noise. 

“Will you please drop it already? I didn’t think it mattered.” Dany was quite tired of having to repeat herself so much. 

“You’re right. It matters way more than that. Even then, how could you still not tell me?” 

“Missy please. It really isn’t that important. I don’t text him like that. It’s just for communicating when we can do the tutoring thing. That’s all.” Dany explained, her voice strangely calm from restraining herself from getting upset. 

“Okay. Maybe. But still I stand by what I said. Just  _ think  _ of all the things you could do with his number now.” Missy’s voice was airy, dreamy sounding. Dany gave her a weird look. 

“Like texting when I can meet him for tutoring? You’re right.” That earned her a glare from Missy. 

“ _ Not  _ what I meant. You should try texting him about stuff  _ other  _ than you know, your tutorings. Even if you keep denying yourself and saying you don’t like him anymore, which by the way, I know for a  _ fact _ that you still do, you can at least try to become friends with him.” Missy suggested to her. She couldn’t be serious right? Dany hoped she wasn’t. So she settled for snorting at her friend’s suggestion instead. 

“Right. Me. Trying to become friends with Jon Snow. Do you even know what you’re saying?” 

Missy and Dany were in her room, both on her bed facing each other, their homework long forgotten in the place of girl gossip instead. She had tried to avoid facing Missy’s never ending questions after the weird interaction with Jon earlier at lunch, but when she’d shown up at her apartment door decked out with her backpack and a bag of popcorn, Dany had no choice but to let her in. 

“Yes, Dany, I do. Look,” Missy leaned forward and took both of Dany’s hands into her’s. “You’re my sister. Not even my best friend anymore. You and I? We’re a forever thing. Nothing and no one will every change that. So it won’t hurt my feelings if you make another friend that’s not me. In fact, it’ll actually make me feel better. I appreciate how much you trust in me, but sooner or later you’ll have to expand that trust to other people. We’re gonna be in college next year. And I can’t be the only person you ever feel comfortable talking to. Now I’m not saying you have to go find someone and tell them of your past and all your deep secrets, but at least find one person that you can break out of your comfort zone with. Trust me, you’ll be thanking me later.” Missy let go of her hands, retracting her’s back to dig into the bowl of popcorn on the bed. 

Dany sighed. Her friend wasn’t wrong but she found the whole thing daunting. Having to go out, talk to completely new and strange people, giving them your trust and having to rely on them. She wasn’t sure how exactly she’d be able to do that. How would she even get herself to talk to someone she didn’t know? What if they thought she was really weird? Dany considered herself the outcast of her high school. She has Missandei, yes, but anything outside of that, she was practically mute. Never talked to anyone, never interacted with anybody else, whenever there would be partner or group activities and projects, she always found a way to work by herself, unless Missy was in the same class. 

“Okay, now you’re thinking too hard about this,” Missy brought her out of her thoughts. “Think about it this way; I saw the way you talked to Jon at lunch. I’ve never seen you like that with anybody else. And you  _ have  _ said that you’ve talked to him in your science class before, right? And somehow, you talked to him enough that he asked you to he his tutor. Last time I checked, Jon Snow and I are completely different people. And yet you still managed to talk to him, never mind him being the most popular guy in school. You’re starting off somewhere, and it’s a really good start. You can do more things than you think you can Dany, you just need to believe that yourself.” 

Thinking back to her actions with Jon, she realized Missy was right. It’s been almost a month since she’s started talking to him, or when he talked to her first. When was the last that had ever happened? Dany pulled a face.  _ It never happened before that. _ How she wished she could turn time back so that she could stay 5 years old forever. At least then, she’d have her family with her. She sighed again.

“Maybe you’re right. Not that it makes anything easier, but you might be right. It’s just hard, I guess…  _ What if they leave too?”  _ Dany voiced her greatest fear to her friend, who wasn’t a stranger to it. She sounded small, and weak, like the little girl that she was so many years ago, when she was told the last of her family was gone, leaving her alone in the world. “I don’t know if I can go through that again, Missy. I don’t know what would happen if I did.” 

Missandei got up and crawled next to Dany’s side, and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, drawing her close. Dany leaned in to her friend’s side embrace, closing her eyes briefly. “I know you’re scared Dany, I know. After your family, and after Drogo? You have every right to reserve your trust with people. I won’t fault you for that. But I don’t want to see you slowly destroy yourself with paranoia. Whether you know it or not, the less you place at least some trust in other people, enough that they could get close to become your friend, the worst you get.. You’ll need people throughout your life, and while I promise I will always have your back, I can’t be with you wherever, whenever, or whatever you’re doing every minute of the day. Sometimes you’ll have to rely on yourself, and I know you can do that for a fact. But there are other times where you’ll have to rely on other people, to share the load. Your life will be infinitely more times better if you slowly break out of your shell, I promise.” 

It was talks like these with Missandei that Dany truly appreciated, truly loved. It felt great for her to be able to have someone she could trust fully with everything, to share her deepest secrets with. And when conversations like this occurs, it‘s eye opening for her. Dany lifted her head up, meeting Missy’s eyes and smiled, tears welling up slightly in her eyes. 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

Missy smiled back. “Good thing you’ll never know.” 

___

  
  


“Is this really  _ that  _ necessary? Cause I don’t think it is.” 

Jon shifted uncomfortably in his chair, facing opposite his parents who had their arms crossed and a look on their faces that told Jon that yes, it was necessary and very serious. He gulped. 

“We said we would leave this subject of matter for another time. Now is that time, young man. You have many things to say for yourself.” His father had that serious face that he always wore when he was speaking with especially stubborn clients of his. His mother had the expression she always wore when one of his siblings won’t listen to her, the calm, blank face that hid all the anger underneath it. 

“Uh, I don’t know what you want me to say exactly.” Jon chuckled nervously. His parents were far from violent people, but Jon feared he would get a serious ass whooping by the end of the day.  _ If he even lived to see it.  _

“Don’t play stupid on us Jon, we know of everything. You’ve been skipping school a lot. We’ve received many calls from your teachers speaking of your multiple truancies. Your grades are slowly slipping, and so is your life the more you keep up with these careless actions of yours.” His mother snapped at him, a glimpse of her frustration shown to him. 

“We’ve started noticing your behavior a while back, but we didn’t think to say anything. But now it’s gotten too far at this point. Either you get your actions and your life back together, or Robb’s inheriting the entire business.” 

As soon as his father spoke the words, Jon’s eyes nearly jumped out of its sockets, his jaw hung open and agape. 

“You’re joking.” 

“This is not a matter of jokes and fun, Jon Stark. This is serious. I won’t put the company at risk because of how you’re acting and behaving. And don’t forget, business schools are tough to get into. You’re only making it harder for yourself with this kind of record you’re setting.” 

Jon rolled his eyes at that. Of course they would decide to give the  _ entire  _ company to Robb.  _ Who else?  _ He thought bitterly to himself. 

“And me. What would happen to me if Robb gets the company?” Jon was certain his parents would not completely abandon him and cut him off, no matter how bad he got. 

“We’ll send you to The Wall.” His father deadpanned. 

_ I should not have spoken so soon.  _ Jon’s eyes popped out again, his face a mixture of shock, surprise, and hurt.  _ They would send me to The Wall.  _ The Wall was one of the most famous and extremely rigorous military academies in all of Westeros. They train the guys there into some of the most skilled and toughest soldiers, called the men of the Night's Watch. As soon as you swore yourself in, you were bound to years long service, until you reach your retirement age. The punishment for deserting the academy and military was death. Jon shuddered at the thought of being one of the men atop the huge ice wall in the north that the men of the Night’s Watch used. He swallowed, trying his best not to show fear in front of his parents. 

“That isn’t fair.” His voice came out calmer than he felt. His mother answered instead, her voice sharp, yet with a hint of comfort.

“Neither are you to us. We’ve done so much for you Jon. You may not realize it but we do. All we ask is that you do your part in school, but you can’t seem to do that either. You’ll be leaving high school in less than a year. You’re practically an adult, just like us. We’ve done our part, and now it’s time for you to do yours.” 

His father nodded at her words, agreeing but not saying anything. Jon searched their faces, for any hint, any sign that they didn’t really mean their threat, but he was disappointed with what he found. They were completely serious, and that scared him (just a little bit.) He sighed, preparing his side of the conversation. 

“Look, Mom, Dad, I don’t know if you remember, but I know I’ve told you before I hired myself a tutor. I’m trying to get my grades back up, and this tutoring thing is really helpful in that.” He tried to get them to think that he was fixing himself, when really, the whole truth of the tutoring thing with Daenerys was the complete opposite. 

“Yes, we do remember, and we’re glad to hear that you’re trying to fix your mistakes, but it doesn’t mean everything you’ve done is completely forgotten. You will atone for your wrong doings, Jon.” His mother calmly explained. He feared whatever the punishment was.

“We’re taking your car away.” 

It was all he could do to not snicker and laugh out loud at that moment.  _ They were taking his _ car! The car that they had gotten him a few months after he got his license. The car that he very rarely ever used, replacing it with his motorcycle instead. When was the last time he’d ever use the thing anyways? He couldn’t remember exactly when, but it had been a long time. Where even was it? Jon didn’t know, but his parents thought of it as a serious punishment, and so he’ll pretend it was one. 

“My car?! You’re kidding. For how long?” 

Okay, so maybe he wouldn’t make the  _ best  _ actor, but at least it was believable enough for his parents, which is what mattered. 

“Three months.” 

Three months. He never used the damn thing anyways, so what did it matter. He nodded his head, and pretended to be glum about it. 

“Fine.” He exhaled. His parents seemed pleased at his supposed disappointment and Jon thought for a split second he should drop the businessman future and head into acting, before he chuckled at himself inwardly for the absurd idea. Jon made to get up from his seat when his parents spoke to him again. 

“We expect to see significant improvement in your grades and behavior at school, or you’re motorcycle is next.” 

_ Well then.  _ He exhaled slowly, and chuckled nervously. 

“Uh, of course. Big improvement… right.” 

His motorcycle was next. 

_ I am so fucked.  _

___

It was a gloomy Thursday afternoon that Jon called for another tutor session with her. More like texted, actually. He seemed somewhat urgent in his text, but how she was able to come to that conclusion, she didn’t know. It wasn’t like tone was able to be conveyed through a mere sending of some words through screens. 

Dany thought back to their other sessions together.  _ He’s gotten more punctual with time.  _ He had started off being 20 minutes late, to almost beating her to their usual meet up spot and time, a thought that surprised her. With each session, they’d gotten more comfortable with each other, growing closer as..  _ Acquaintances?..... Friends?  _ Dany wasn’t sure if she’d go as far to say whether they had grown closer as friends quite yet, however. She turned her attention back to Jon. 

“I figure we should just focus on the science stuff, get it out of the way first. I feel like Mormont’s been getting on my back more recently. At least, more than he usually does. Can you see it too?”    
  
Dany nodded and chuckled lightly. “Yeah, I do. He’s been a little more cranky with people lately. Trouble in paradise perhaps?” 

  
  
“Last I heard, his wife left him for some rich guy after she was unhappy with him. That was well before we were in high school though. And besides, he’s been cranky with everyone else, but you.” 

  
  
“He does not. I just get what I need to get done.” Dany shrugged his implication off. 

“Mhm, and so do half the class. I’m like 99% sure the guy’s got a crush on you or something.” 

  
  
Dany cringed in disgust. “A crush in me? He does not. He’s like 30 years older than me. That’s gross, Jon.” 

  
  
“That doesn’t seem to stop him. He looks at you like you’re his queen or something. You make a small complaint, he’ll change the entire thing for you. The class is being too loud for you to focus? He might as well become some sort of general in the military with how he yells at the rest of us. Must be nice being the favorite.” Jon teased her mercilessly, as Dany blushed the rumors away. 

“Would you stop thinking that? Even if he does have a crush on me, that would never happen. He gives me the literal creeps. Never in another universe.” Jon gave her a smirk and a snort. 

“Okay then princess. Whatever you say.” 

  
  
Dany playfully rolled her eyes at him and watched as he turned back to his work. Dany thought back to her deep conversation with Missy the other night.  _ Could she really be friends with him?  _ When it all came down to it, he was just a regular student who was struggling with school. He wasn’t some sort of prince or king. Just because he knew a lot of people, doesn’t mean it would be impossible for her to befriend him. Right? At least, that’s what she told herself. It needn’t be more than that. Just a means of a way to expand her social group and social skills, nothing else. 

“Here, is this right?” 

  
  
Dany looked over the answers he had written down, thinking about them. Then she nodded and gave a small smile, which was returned to her, causing hers to grow wider. They stayed that way for a while, looking at each other with smiles still half on their faces. She felt her smile slip, but it remained in her eyes. Dany wasn’t sure when exactly they moved, but one moment she went from smiling at him, to being a mere couple inches from his face, so close she could feel his breath rivaling against hers. She looked deep into his eyes, admiring their unique color. She noticed how it tended to change depending on the setting. Most of the time, they were a dark brown so dark they were almost grey. This time, his pretty grey eyes were drowned in the black of his pupils, his eyes nearly as black as obsidian or even dragonglass, as she remembered the color of the extremely rare glass. Was she moving in even closer to him? It took her less than a second to snap out of whatever cloud her brain was in and move away from him, swallowing the lump in her throat. He seemed surprised too, blinking away at whatever just overcame him. Without saying anything, he turned back to his work, continuing wherever he left off, leaving Dany to her own thoughts. 

_ What the hell just happened?  _

She was centimeters away from kissing Jon Snow Stark, that’s what happened. And it seemed her entire body caught up her mind as her heart began racing.  _ Why? Why, why why?  _ What on Westeros and Essos possessed her into thinking that was okay? Something was off with her, she could feel it within her.  _ What’s wrong with me?  _ Didn’t she just come to terms with being okay with the thought of being his friend? Friends don’t come that close to kissing each other like, do they? She was pretty sure they don’t.  _ What’s happening to me?  _ Was she having heart palpitations?  _ Breathe, Dany, just breathe.  _ She thought all this to herself as she kept her body turned away from his, knowing whatever was happening inside her would increase if she looked at him.  _ Gods, I need to calm down.  _ With a deep breath in, she turned her body back to look at Jon again, sighing quietly in relief to see that he was still focused on his work.  _ Get a grip on yourself Daenerys! You are not going to die from this!  _ She thought to herself. Her heart had eventually gotten back down to its regular rate, allowing Dany to breathe normally again, just in time for Jon to finish his work and lean back all the way in his chair for her to look over. She noticed that most of them were correct, except for one, which was a common mistake to make. Clearing the frog in her throat, she explained to him. 

“Here, this one’s almost right but not quite. It’s an easy mistake to make though. You did the opposite of what you were supposed to do.” 

  
  
He squinted at his paper and looked back and forth between it and his textbook, before he let out a small and quiet groan. “I don’t know why I always do that.” 

Dany gave a soft smile. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Like I said, it’s an easy mistake to make that’s very common. Just remember the rules of it next time, especially on the test.” 

He nodded, and erased his answer to make the correction. She guessed they were just going to forget over whatever it is that just happened between the two of them not even 5 minutes prior, which was completely fine with her. She had no qualms with it. It would probably be better. 

“I think that’s all of it for science I guess. Oh, I forgot to show you something.” he reached inside his backpack, digging inside of it before finally finding whatever he needed. “Here.” He held out a small piece of paper in his hand for her to take, which she did. 

  
It was a progress report of all his classes with his current grades. She smiled wide as she looked over his improved grades. With all the AP classes he was taking, he only had 2 B’s, and the rest were all A’s. She felt a burst of pride inside her as she observed the paper. She looked up from it, seeing him blush slightly while trying to look everywhere but at her. 

“Wow. You really have improved a lot Jon. I’m so proud and happy for you!” He chuckled and blushed even more at her phrase, which Dany completely refused to call as  _ cute.  _

“It’s all thanks to you. If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be in the depths of the ocean because of my parents. Thank you so much for helping me, Daenerys.” 

Now it was Dany’s turn to blush at his phrase. “Don’t thank me. All I did was give you a few pointers and corrections. You learned everything else. It’s all on you Jon. I’m sure your parents would be very proud of you once they see it.”

He smiled. “I’m sure they will. We should celebrate this momentous occasion.” 

Dany raised her eyebrow and smiled. “Oh? Celebrate what exactly?” 

  
  
“Me managing to get good grades with the classes I have, and you managing to deal with me enough for me to get these grades. Don’t you think that deserves some type of reward? I think it does.” 

  
  
Dany squinted playfully at his suggestion and laughed. “Oh okay then, Mr. Team-Captain. How do you want to celebrate this ‘momentous occasion’?” Dany laughed with him. 

“A date.” 

Her smile slipped off her face, and she stared at him blankly for a moment.  _ Did he just- _

“I-uh... a-a what?” She stuttered out, blinking her eyes a few times, making sure this wasn’t some dream that she could snap herself out of. 

“A date.” 

  
  
She knew what he bloody said, but what did he mean?! 

  
  
“No, yeah-yeah I got that part. I meant like, like what do you-what do you mean by it?” Her heart had gone back to racing again, her breathing as if she had just ran a marathon, but not quite enough for Jon to notice. He was looking at her, a slight smile in his eyes.  _ Was he joking with her?  _

“What do I mean by it? You asked how I wanted to celebrate. I want to celebrate with a date.” He smiled, and her heart raced even more.  _ Was that even possible?  _

“A date? Like with, uh, with who?” Jon rolled his eyes at her, but she could tell it wasn’t in an annoyed way. 

He snorted. “With Alys Karstark.” 

Dany’s heart sank, but why, she refused to admit. She blinked a few times again. “Oh. Oh. That-that makes sense.” She nodded, perhaps a bit too vigorously. Alys Karstark was one of the pretty, popular girls. She’d be a good match for Jon. Dany was a bit lost on how to set up a date for him with- 

“Oh my god, you’re serious?” 

“Serious? About what? I’m not sure what you’re asking Jon. If you just wanted a date to celebrate with Alys Karstark, why don’t you just ask her out? I see the way she looks at you. It’s not like you’ll be fighting some war to win her favor or anything, just ask her out. Or Arianne Martell. She’s really pretty too. Weren’t you just with her like last week or something? I don’t know how I’m supposed to set up a date for you with her. I doubt she even knows I exist. You could just ask-”

“For the love of all the gods, Daenerys will you stop rambling for a minute and let me speak too?” His voice wasn’t harsh, but firm and serious. Dany immediately shut her mouth, her brain finally catching up to her mouth, and she grew a shade of red at the embarrassment of her rambling.

“I don’t want a date with Alys Karstark. I’m saying I want to celebrate our hard work but going on a date. With  _ you.”  _

_ Did I hear that right? With you? With  _ me?  _ He’s definitely joking.  _ Dany shifted her eyes around the library, looking for something that seemed out of place. She was expecting a bunch of people to just storm out right now with balloons, a clown, and a big camera saying she just got pranked. But everything seemed to be the exact same as always. 

“Wh-what?” She was panicking for sure now, if her rambling, shaky voice, racing heart, and unsteady hands were of any sign at all. He exhaled a small laugh at her. 

“For someone so smart, you’re being incredibly naive right now. I’m asking you on a date. Usually, someone responds with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question. Not that I’m hoping for the latter.” 

A date. Jon Snow Stark, the most popular guy in school, so popular he’s got girls from other schools fawning over him, was asking  _ her  _ on a date. The most handsome and hottest guy she’s ever laid eyes upon. The guy she’s been crushing after since her freshman year. The guy who skipped class in favor of making out with some girl. To vape. The guy who goes to parties and drinks, despite being underage. 

A date. 

“I don’t-I don’t think I understand…” 

  
  
“What don’t you understand?” He asked, staring her intently. 

“Why? Why are you..” She didn’t finish her sentence, but she knew he knew what she was talking about. He shrugged. 

“Because I want to. Because I want to see what happens. Because I know for a fact that I am not the only one who wants to give whatever happened between us several minutes ago a shot. So I’m asking for a date. Will you please go on a date with me?” He reiterated, and to add, he even smiled that damn same smile for her. 

_ I can’t. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.  _ They were just supposed to be  _ friends!  _ Friends do not go centimeters away from kissing each and they  _ certainly do not _ go on dates with each other. Was he crazy? He must be sick. That’s the only explanation for why he would think to ask her that. Someone of her status should not be going on a date with someone like him. Did he know how any of this worked? 

What if he’s like Drogo? She shut her eyes for a few moments, trying to push the thought of her mind.  _ Don’t think about him. He’s in the past Dany.  _ Besides, Jon was nothing like Drogo.  _ Except, Drogo was sweet to me before we dated too.  _ Would Jon be like that to her? She hadn’t known him well enough to know his full past, but she knew he hadn’t gotten in trouble for mistreating and abusing a girl before. 

One date. 

He was asking for one date. 

Then when he would see her, the way she was truly like, he’ll regret asking her. He won’t ask for a second one. They’ll forget that any of it happened, and go on with their lives. He’ll go back to attracting girls from all over, and she’ll go back to being the girl who owned the corner of any room and shut anyone and everyone out. 

_ You’ll be alone forever if you don’t break out of your shell Daenerys. Don’t destroy yourself with you paranoia.  _ The voice strangely sounded like Missandei, and Dany thought of her words again. She can’t do everything alone. No matter how much she’d rather do it than risk getting broken again. “ _ Trusting nobody is just as worse as trusting no one at all. Give yourself another chance.”  _ Dany’s eyes fluttered once more, sending a silent ‘thank you’ to her friend for her words and advice.  _ Just one.  _

“Okay.” She finally spoke. 

“Okay?” Jon copied her words, confused. Dany nodded. 

“Yeah, okay. I will.” It didn’t pass her the way his eyes brightened up, and his body sat straighter. 

“You’ll go on a date with me? Really?” Why was he so surprised? 

“Yeah, really. U-unless you expected me to say no, then-” She faltered for a brief second. 

“No!” He shouted, and winced at how loud it was. He cleared his throat. “Uh, no. No, I wanted you to accept my offer. I just wanted to make sure, you know..” He shifted in his seat, and Dany nodded. “Are you available Saturday? Like, around 10 am?” 

She thought about it. She could just get Missy or Cedric to watch Uncle Aemon. She was sure they wouldn’t mind her going out. Missy, least of all. 

She nodded again. “Yeah. I’m free.” 

He smiled with his teeth showing, and her heart fluttered, but she tried her best to suppress it. 

“I guess it’s a date then.” 

“I guess so.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big chapter ! I think? Please comment down below what you thought of this chapter and what you hope happens next. I'll see you guys in the next chapter!


	6. If the head keeps working, the heart starts hurting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany and Missy share a moment with each other. Jon picks Dany up for their date. More of Jon and Dany's mindsets are revealed as they begin to know more about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE DATE! Here's another chapter for y'all to celebrate the last week of school of 2019, and for all the finals that I've somehow passed! I've been working on this chapter as soon as I released the last one, so it may feel a bit choppy, as it took multiple days of me trying to write in whenever I had free time at school and at home. I really hope you guys enjoy this one. It isn't my favorite one in my opinion, but I hope you'll like it anyways.

It was a Friday afternoon, and Dany had just gotten home from school. Most teenagers her age would either be A) trying to finish their homework to get it out of the way for the weekend or B) going out (or staying in) with friends or family. But not Dany. No, she was running around, frantic in her room, pulling and shuffling through her drawers, ripping through her closet, and even peeking under bed just to find a decent looking outfit. Jon had asked her on the date for Saturday morning, and it was Friday and she’d yet to find something to wear. 

Dany hadn’t told Missy at school for fear of her friend asking too many questions, but now she found she regretted that idea. She knew Missy would know what she should wear for him.  _ What would I even wear?  _ What did Jon like? Would he want to see her in a cute dress? Or was he okay with her wearing her usual sweater and jeans with old converse? Or maybe he preferred to short dresses that barely just covered her butt. Not that she had anything remotely close to that. Right as she was about to just fall on her bed dramatically and sigh, she heard a knock on the front door. Dany jumped off the bed, yelling out to her uncle that she’ll get it. She opened the door and there stood Missandei, who wore the same equally confused expression as she. 

“Missy? What’re you doing here?” Dany took a step back to allow her friend's room to come inside. 

“I-I don’t know. One minute I’m on my bed, then the next I’m right in front of your door.” Missy took the invitation and walked inside. 

“Oh.” 

“This is probably going to sound super weird, but I just felt something. You know how people say it’s a ‘mother’s intuition’? That’s what I felt, but not as your mother.” 

Dany was highly confused at the whole situation. “You what? I’m not sure I understand.” 

Missy sighed, and took a seat on the couch. “I feel like there’s something off with you. Like, you were acting kinda strange this whole day. Is there something you’re not telling me? Am I missing something?” 

Dany narrowed her eyes in confusion at first when it dawned on her what she was talking about.  _ Her date!  _ Dany smiled in thought that her best friend was able to determine that something was off with her. In another world, Dany would have thought her to be creepy, but in this one, she found it endearing in a way that it showed how close they were as friends. 

“You’re giving me that smile, so something’s definitely happened. Spill!” Missy exclaimed at her, pulling her out of her head. 

“There’s something going on tomorrow morning that I maybe probably should have told you, but it’s not  _ that  _ big of a deal.” Dany lied. It was a huge deal. 

“What is it?! How come I don’t know about this event yet?” 

Dany took a deep breath in, before spilling her words out of her mouth. “JonSnowStarkkindofaskedmeoutonadatetomorrowmorning.” She wasn’t sure if Missy got what she just said, but apparently she did. She blinked a few times at her, before her eyes grew huge and her mouth dropped along with her hands that were crossed over her chest. 

“He  _ what?!”  _ She all but yelled. 

“Asked me on a date.” Dany mumbled out, her words a little bit more separated. For a brief minute, Dany feared her best friend would die from a heart attack, with the way she looked at her. She stayed that way for a bit too long that Dany tried to bring her out of it. 

“Hello? Missy, you in there?” In an instant, Missy snapped out of her stupor and immediately jumped up, barely missing hitting Dany’s head, just as Dany did to Jon. 

_ “Why am I just hearing about this now?!”  _ Missy yelled at her, causing Dany to cringe. 

“Because I knew you’d react like this?” Dany offered meekly. Missy looked like she was fuming on the inside, her eyes still wide open at her. 

“I want to yell at you so bad right now, but I don’t want to disturb your uncle and  _ we need to get you a dress  _ stat!” And with that, her best friend set out on a mission to find her the perfect outfit, running to her bedroom and mimicking Dany’s actions earlier, rummaging through her closet. 

Soon enough, Missy finally speaks to her after focusing on her closet for so long. She comes out holding one of Dany’s only pairs of jean jackets that still fit her. She’s pretty sure she bought the thing all the way back in freshman year. Granted, she hasn’t grown much since then. 

“This is the only decent thing I could find. Seriously Dany, we need to go clothes shopping one of these days. Your closet’s monotonous. Luckily, I might have a dress you can borrow that would go well with this denim jacket. I could drive home real quickly and grab it for you to try on. It shouldn’t be that much bigger on you.” 

Dany nodded. “I guess that would work. Thank you so much Missy.” 

Missy hummed in reply. “I’m not letting go of the fact that you didn’t tell me as soon as he asked you.  _ For gods sakes,  _ Grey hasn’t even asked me out yet! And I’m pretty sure we’re way farther along than you two. I know I told you that you shouldn’t be distrustful of everyone, but  _ damn  _ you move fast girl. But I’m still happy for you Dany. Maybe this is your chance to break free of that cage you’ve set yourself in for so long.” With that, they shared a hug and a few more words before Missy walked out to get her dress. 

Less than 20 minutes later, Missandei is back with a casual white and short dress in hand. “Okay, try this on with the jacket and maybe even put the converse on. I’ll see how it looks.” She ushers Dany inside the bathroom for her to change into her clothes. As she slips the dress on, she notices it’s only the slightest bit loose around her chest and shoulders, but it would be an easy fix with the jacket. When she’s done, she steps out, gesturing her hands out for Missy to see it fully. 

Her eyes shine as she steps out and she starts clapping. “It looks so good on you Dany! You look gorgeous in that!” Missy runs out of Dany’s bed that she’s been sitting on and turns Dany’s shoulders around so that she’s facing the full body mirror that rests on the floor of her room. 

_ Oh.  _

_ I look… different.  _

Dany thinks to herself quietly, but gives a small smile to show. She isn’t sure if she likes how she looks or absolutely hates it. It was something she’d never worn before, always preferring to not draw attention to herself. But as she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t help but be conscious about everything. 

_ Would Jon like it? Would he think I’m pretty enough? As pretty as Arianne or Alys or even his ex Val? What if he thinks just not pretty at all? What if I’m being dramatic? Am I overdressing? Am I trying too hard? He probably does this all the time. It’s not that big of a deal Daenerys!  _

Dany couldn’t help but think her ‘what-ifs’ that always seem to plague her mind constantly. She loathed how her insecurities would come up during the worst times, but she guesses that that’s how insecurities worked. 

“Dany, hey, you okay?” Missy tapped her shoulder gently. “Don’t you like the outfit?” It took Dany a minute to figure out her honest answer. 

“I’m not sure.” She sighed out, turning away from the mirror to sit on the edge of her bed. “Am I trying to hard Missy? And be honest.”

Missandei joins her spot next to her on the bed. “No, I don’t think you’re trying too hard. In fact, I think you’re not trying hard enough. You should be happy Dany. You should be excited. You’ve liked this guy since your first year, and now you’re finally getting your chance. So what seems to be making you so down like this?” 

“I just… I don’t know if I should’ve said yes. I’m not saying I regret accepting it, but I don’t know if it was the right thing to say either. What if I’m not ready? I keep telling myself that it’s just one date, then we’ll go back to trying to become good friends like we were. Or just not talking to each other at all. But what if that hurts me in the end? I don’t know if I can go through that again Missy, not a third time.” 

Missandei seemed to realize and understand Dany’s worries, so she turned her body to full face her, and took her hands into hers. “We talked about this remember? Don’t think of this as another opportunity to hurt you. Think of it as your first chance to really put yourself out there again. You’ll never what may come out of it. I know it’s hard, but try not to think so pessimistic. It’ll make things harder for you.” Dany nodded and hugged her, thankful for her friend’s always wise advice and words of wisdom.

“You always know what to say, you know that?” Dany smiled.

“Of course I do.” Missy winked at her. “What do you think I’m taking AP Psychology for?” The two girls shared a laugh before Dany returned to the bathroom to change back into her normal clothes, leaving the dress out for the next morning. 

___ 

Jon could not seem to sleep no matter what position he tried. He went on his left side, his right side, on his back, on his stomach, going with a pillow, then throwing the pillow on his floor. He even tried sleeping upside down on his bed, his feet resting on the headboard. But alas, none of it seemed to get him to feel any sort of tired. He finally managed to drift off when it felt sooner rather than later that the sun began to rise from its hiding. He was tired from a night of very little sleep, but also bustling with energy at the day ahead of him. He jumped inside the shower, throwing his clothes on for the day once he finished, then checked the time. 

_ 8:43 _

He had about 2 hours until he had to actually pick Daenerys up from her place. 

_ Her place. Shit.  _

Jon groaned aloud and slapped a hand to his forehead, facepalming at his own stupidity.  _ Of course _ he forgot to ask what her address was. He wondered briefly if she was waiting for him to ask her where she lived the day of their date. He shot her a short text asking her, and received a quick reply of it no later. He was surprised to see that she didn’t live too far away from him, though he really shouldn’t as they were both not too far away from the school either. Reading it over a few times, he memorized the address, then clicked out of the messages and shut his phone off. Jon thought about the plans he had for the two of them today. 

_ What would it take to get a girl like her to fall quickly?  _

He wasn’t completely sure, which is why he planned on taking full advantage of this date they had to learn more about her. He hoped she wasn’t the play-hard-to-get type of girls. He absolutely hated those types. Especially in this situation. He just wanted to do the thing, get the money, then head out, figuratively speaking. He didn’t wish to prolong this anymore than it needed to. 

Checking in the mirror one last time, Jon made sure he looked presentable enough. He was wearing his usual black jeans and plain black t-shirt, which he topped over with a dark brown leather jacket, swapping it instead of his black one that he always wore. He had sprayed some of his men’s cologne on himself, not too much that it would overwhelm her, but enough that was attractive yet subtle. 

Soon enough, it was about 9:34 when he decided he would leave to pick her up. He wanted to try and make a good impression, even if she already knew about his punctuality issues. Luckily, his parents weren’t awake and out yet, and neither were Arya or Sansa, which made it a lot easier for him to head out without being questioned. He did, however, run in to Robb, who was in the kitchen making himself some coffee. 

“Where you headed off to?” He questioned Jon, eyeing the basket he held in his hand, which Jon defensively hid behind himself, making no difference. 

“Somewhere. What’re you doing up so early?” Jon deflected. 

“I could ask the same thing to you. It’s 9:30, I’m always up at this time. You’re not, especially on the weekends. And you’re all dressed up. Who are you meeting?” Robb had the teasing look on his face that he knew Jon hated. He rolled his eyes. 

“I’m going on a date, okay. Leave me alone. I’ll be back well before 3 pm, tell Mom and Dad that.” He shot at him, and with that, he continued on his way to his motorcycle, making sure to secure the basket and bring a second helmet for Daenerys, and drove off. 

.

_ An apartment. She lived in an apartment.  _

That was Jon’s first thought as he pulled up to the address she had sent to him earlier. It was strange to think that she lived in one, while he lived in a manor that had been passed down from his ancestors (though it sounds kind of creepy). His house was nearly as big as the entire apartment building itself. He parked his motorcycle and pulled his phone out of one of his zipper jackets, trying to find her messages through a bunch of his unread ones to find her room number. 

_ Room 73  _

That should’ve been Jon’s first thought when she sent the address to him earlier, but just like the idiot he was, he didn’t bother paying attention to it. 

_ 9:48 _

It wasn’t exactly 10 am, but he figured he might as well just head up. He took the basket out of its latches to bring up with him. He really did not need someone to steal it and ruin his plans for the day. That would just set him back in his plans even more. He walked inside the building, pleasantly surprised by the warm atmosphere that enveloped him as he entered. He was greeted warmly by the receptionist at the front desk, and he nodded in acknowledgement. Pressing the button in the elevator to her floor number, Jon waited patiently for the little ding to tell him he had arrived. Her apartment wasn’t too far away from the elevator, about 3 doors to the right. 

_ Room 73  _ greeted him on the door. Jon raised his hand to knock on the door, allowing three small raps of his knuckles to make contact with the wood. He heard some shuffling sinde the room, then the sound of someone tripping over something, followed by a small, quiet curse that he couldn’t help but smile at. Then the door opened. 

_ Oh.  _

_ Wow. _

That’s all that seemed to go through Jon’s brain as Daenerys opened the door. She was dressed in a beautiful white dress with a denim jacket that really accentuated the soft curves she had. Her unique silver-blonde hair was styled into soft curls that flowed down her back and rested over her shoulders. She was absolutely beautiful, he couldn’t help but admit to himself personally. Her face wasn’t drowning in makeup as opposed to other girls he’d gone on dates with. Instead, she opted for the natural look, with only a little mascara on her that really brought out her pretty purple eyes, which, by the way, Jon thought was still not possible.  _ And I get to go on a date with her.  _

“You okay?” Her soft voice brought him out from his dreams. She must have noticed him staring at her for a bit too long, as her cheeks blushed a soft red.  _ Gods why was  _ everything  _ about her so soft?!  _

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I’m fine. You look- you look good.”  _ Why the hell was he stuttering?!  _ Jon shook his head, trying to appear as chill about it as possible, when really, he was confused about it all.

“You do too.” He could barely hear her say quietly. He nodded and they stayed there for a minute.  _ Get a goddamn grip on yourself Snow!  _

“Do you wanna head out now?” He asked her suddenly, drawing her attention away from the floor, causing her to blush once again.

She nodded. “Yeah, let me just go grab my stuff real quick.” She disappeared behind the half closed door before reappearing again, a small backpack that she wore on her back that held her stuff. He allowed her to walk in first in the elevator as he was supposed to, and then first again walking outside the building. 

“Which car is your’s?” She asked, looking around the parking lot for his supposed car. Jon chuckled, leading her to his bike and placing the basket back where it was, making sure it was tight on that it wouldn’t fly off, but still left enough space for her. “We’re riding your motorcycle?” He could hear her ask incredulously behind him before he turned around and faced her again. He chuckled again at her look, clearly confused and,  _ was that a hint of fear he saw?  _ Was she really scared to ride on a motorcycle? 

“Yup.” He confirmed patting the bike. “I prefer this one than my car. Lot easier to get around in my opinion. And my car isn’t really available at the moment, so there’s that.” Jon added vaguely, thinking of his parents’ punishment for him. “You ever ride one before?” He knew it was a stupid question to ask, lest she would look less scared at the strange contraption. Just as he thought, she shook her head. 

“No. Just cars for me.” She looked shy suddenly, her arms holding each other behind her back and looking down on the asphalt. Jon followed her gaze so she would look back at him. 

“Well, then I promise you we won’t ride too hard today.” He winked for an extra measure. “Here, put this on.” He lent out the extra helmet he brought along with him, which she took hesitantly, putting it over her head. 

“Is this on right?” Her voice was muffled due to the helmet, which had Jon trying to suppress his own laughter. He reached out, adjusting the helmet so it fit properly around her head and was facing the right direction.

“There. Now it’s right.” 

With that, Jon throws a leg over the bike, and looks over to her. “You planning on walking to our destination?” Even with the helmet over her face, Jon can tell she’s hesitant about getting on. She shook her head in reply. “Get on. She won’t bite, I promise.” 

“I have a dress on. How am I supposed to ride that thing?” She asked him skeptically. Jon glanced to her dress, controlling himself from making it look like he was looking at places he shouldn’t, before looking back up at her helmet covered face and shrugged. 

“You have shorts underneath right?” She nodded. “You’ll be fine. If you’re really that worried, sit on the front and back part of it.” She nodded again, more slowly this time, and followed his suggestion, climbing hesitantly behind him on the bike. She was farther away than he would have liked it, and doing her best not to touch him at all, which irked him a bit. 

“Unless you wanna have our date in the hospital, you better move closer and hold on tight to me princess.” She looked up at him, and followed, moving closer to him so that she was pressed up against his back and her hands holding loosely onto each other on the front of his chest.  _ She’ll regret that,  _ Jon smirked and started the engine, revving it up before backing up from his parking spot. As soon as he moved, he felt her arms jump in surprise and a small yelp come from her at the sudden movement, then her hands tightened around him the way they should have. With that, Jon drove away, leaving the area to his planned destination. 

.

The drive over to the park took him about 20 minutes, as he tried to ride through the morning traffic of cars. “We’re here,” He called over his shoulder to the girl who was currently trying her best not to shake and tremble behind him. He parked the motorcycle in parking mode and left it where it would be safe and out of the way. Behind him, he could feel Daenerys scrambling to get off the bike and take her helmet off and fix her hair, which still looked just as beautiful as it did when he picked her up.  _ Not that he was keeping track or anything….  _

“Uh, what is this place?” He watched as Daenerys looked around the park he had taken them to, surveying the area. It was one of the oldest parks in the town of Winterfell that his ancestors once built and owned. There was a big blue pond that froze over when winter came, and when it was summer, it would be filled with life in the water. There were a couple old weirwood trees that were grown a long time ago and have stayed there as some sort of relic of the Starks gods. Off to the side where there weren’t too many people, was the place Jon had planned to go to today. 

“It’s the Winterfell Park. C’mon, I’ll show you around, then we’ll go to our spot.” Jon took the lead (obviously) and pointed things out for her to take note of. He showed her the pond, the small playground that was built not too long ago for the children, the carved stone and marble that stood in the middle of the park, words of the old gods that the family who owned this place believe in and of the history of it. Then he took her to their spot. “This is the biggest and oldest weirwood tree in all of the North.” Jon patted the thick trunks of the tree, looking to see Daenerys’ reaction. 

Hers was just like his when his parents showed him the tree when he was little. She seemed amazed at the sight of it. She stepped closer to it, lifting her hand up and looking at him, most likely for some sort of go-ahead to touch the tree. He shrugged and nodded. Her hand went right under the face that was carved into the tree, and her eyes grew wide again. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but smile at her amazed reaction of the tree, and the park in general. Most girls couldn’t give a crap about a piece of old wood. 

While she did that, Jon placed the basket he had in his hand down and opened it, taking the blanket he had packed out of it and covering the ground with it, then placing the basket on top. Daenerys must have turned back around, as he found her looking at him when he turned back.”Let’s sit down.” He gestured his head, which she followed. 

“We’re having a picnic?” She asked him. 

“That’s what it looks like, I hope.” He laughed quietly when he saw her roll her eyes at him. He proceeded to take out the food he packed, laying them all in front of them, and finally, taking out the two water bottles and small plates with utensils.

“Wow. You, uh, brought a lot of food.” She told him, looking at the arrangement. He looked down at it as well, seeing what he brought. It wasn’t that much really. He brought strawberries and blueberries that his mother bought the other day, two deli sandwiches he had ordered the day prior, and a few sweet treats such as donuts and cookies to finish the meal off. Surely it wasn’t that much to her. He noticed as she didn’t make a move to grab anything yet, so he suppressed shaking his head and reached out, grabbing food for himself first. She must have been waiting for him to do it anyways, as she copied his actions once he finished taking. 

For several minutes it was just silence between them, and the longer it was, the more awkward it felt to Jon, and most likely to her too. He had to think of something to fill the blank space. 

“So what do you think of it so far?” He asked her, then took a bite out of his sandwich. She finished chewing what was in her mouth first before answering. 

“Think of what?” 

“Today, so far.” 

“Oh. Well, I mean the food is really good. The ride over was.. I don’t know, unexpected? If I had known I would have chosen something more practical.” Her eyebrows pinched together as she looked at her sandwich again, and took another small bite out of it. He nodded. 

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t know then. You look great.” He might as well compliment her if he was really going to do this. That got a small blush out of her, which was sort of endearing to see. She tried to hide it behind her sandwich, which only had a few small bites from it. “Are you not hungry?” He asked her, nodding towards her food. 

“I am. I just eat kind of slow, that’s all. Sorry.” She mumbled the last part quietly and hung her head. 

_ Huh.  _

“Don’t be. There’s nothing to apologize for. Take your time.” By then, Jon had already finished his sandwich, and moved onto his fruits that he secretly liked (he would be bound to eat fruits only for the rest of his life if his mother found out).  _ This isn’t going anywhere Jon!  _ He mentally yelled at himself. What was he supposed to do now? 

“We should play a game.” He said suddenly, looking over to her. She looked up, surprised, while half biting into the sandwich. 

“A game?” He nods. 

“Yeah. You ever play 21 questions?” He asks her. She shakes her head, confused. Jon’s surprised. How has someone never played that game before? He guesses it might be a little bit hard to play when you only interact with one person. “It’s like 20 questions, expect, we get to ask any type of question, not just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ones.The catch is, you have to answer with complete honesty. You only get 3 skips. After that, you have to answer any and all questions. Here, I’ll start. I’ll ask a question, then you answer. Then you ask a question, then I answer, and so on. Good way to get to know each other a little bit more.” She nods, taking one last bite of her food before setting it down, bringing her legs to her left side to sit down and face him properly. It takes him a moment to think of a question. 

“You have any pets?” 

“No. I don’t have time to take care of one right now.” Jon nods, understanding. He’s always wanted a dog, but his parents always told him that he and his siblings were enough for them to take care of already.  _ Maybe after college.  _ “Your turn.” He notices how her face scrunches up slightly as she thinks of a question. 

“How many people are there in your family?”    


  
“Eight.” 

  
  
Her eyes widen so much, they’re nearly bulging out of their sockets. “Eight?! Including your parents?”    


  
“I’m assuming they’re part of my family, so yes, including them.” 

  
  
“You have six other siblings?!” 

  
  
“Uh uh. You only get to ask one question at a time.” He reminds her, prompting her to blow a breath out in a sigh.    
  


“Your favorite color?” 

  
  
“Red and black.” She responds quickly. Interesting. He didn’t take her to be the ‘edgy color’ type. “Do you have a favorite family member?” Jon nods. 

“Secretly. She’s the youngest girl in our family. Her name’s Arya. But don’t tell my other siblings that. They’ll throw a huge fit.” He swears he sees her flash a brief smile, but it’s gone before he can do a double take and look again. “How many people are in your family?” He assumes it can’t be as many people as he does, seeing as she does live in an apartment. 

The smile that she’s had plastered on her face falters a bit and drops, something flashing in her eyes that he can’t quite catch or name, but before he knows it, it’s back on her face again. “Including me, 2.” 

_ 2 people?  _ That would mean it’s just her and someone else. A single parent perhaps? Jon doesn’t know, but he does know what to ask on his next round. 

“How many girls have you taken here?” 

  
  
Her question takes him aback.  _ How many girls has he taken here?  _ Like, on dates? It takes him a while to remember. “I don’t know exactly. Maybe 3? Who else do you live with?” He follows up his answer with his own question. 

“My uncle.” 

  
  
Her uncle. 

_ Her uncle?  _

She didn’t live with a mother or father. She lived with her uncle. Now his curiosity is even more piqued. “Why’d you put your name as ‘Jon Snow’ in my contacts, when your last name is Stark?” 

Jon breathes a laugh out, remembering his actions. “I just like to go by Jon Snow more I guess. Everyone knows I’m Jon Stark, but I’d rather be known as Jon Snow. Plus, I think it matches more.” He shrugs with his statement. “Why do you live with your uncle?” He just had to know more about her now, which wouldn’t really make do. He shouldn’t be caring as much as he did. But he blames it on the fact that he knows everyone, so he should know her too. 

Her face forms a grimace. “Can I take my first skip?” Daenerys doesn’t look at him when she asks. Something must be totally off with her personal life, he guesses. Though it doesn’t really take a guess to know that. He nods, allowing her to skip this one out, but he’s dying to know more.

She’s silent for a moment, trying to think of questions to ask him most likely, but she comes up with nothing. “I don’t know. I can’t think of any.” 

“Then I’ll go. What’s your last name?” He asks her unashamedly. He really should be ashamed of it though. All this time and he still didn’t know of her surname. 

“Targaryen.” She responds quietly. 

_ Targaryen?  _

_ Daenerys Targaryen?  _

_ Holy shit, she’s a Targaryen.  _

Jon’s own eyes go wide, just as hers did before as he comes to that realization. All this time and he never knew she was a fucking  _ Targaryen.  _

Targaryen were the ones who built and shaped Westeros hundreds of years ago. Their legendary castle was on Dragonstone, one of the largest islands in the world. Just as his ancestors were, the Targaryens were said to be the most richest and powerful family back then. Nearly two decades though, there was said to be an accident that wiped almost all the Targaryens away. 

“I get that a lot.” Jon winces as his attention is pulled back to the silver blond girl in front of him, staring at him with some questionable in her eyes. “Not a lot, I mean. Obviously. I don’t talk to very many people. But, the reaction. That’s what I see a lot when they hear my last name.” Jon’s eyebrows furrowed together as she says that. Sitting in front of him right now is the last living Targaryen. The descendant of the Targaryens who built Westeros. Even if they were the ones who created and instilled the monarchy ruling system that has been long since replaced with democracy, they were still such legendary and iconic figures of history.  _ And I’m on a date with one right now. Theon is going to  _ blow  _ his shit.  _

“Sorry. I just never knew… Daenerys Targaryen. That’s a mouthful to say.” He tries to make light of the conversation, sensing the imminent gloom it was about to take. 

“You don’t have to say it all, you know. Daenerys is fine.”    


  
He still feels like it could be shorter. “Hm. I think I’ll call you Dany. It’s shorter, and matches you more.” He smiles at the end to add his charm. But instead, she gives him a look. It wasn’t a look of disgust or distaste to the name, but more shocked and surprised. “What’s with the look?” 

  
  
She shakes her head. “N-nothing… Nobody other than my uncle and my best friend call me that. Not since- nevermind.” She confused him with that.  _ Not since what?  _ Why does she always love to him leave him guessing? Was it that hard to just say the full truth? 

“So, is Dany okay for me to use?” He really did not feel like using ‘Daenerys’ everytime when he talked to her. As pretty as the name was, it was also a mouthful. 

“Yeah. I guess it’s okay.” 

Jon feels a light buzz in his pocket. He takes his phone out and sees all the notifications he has on the lockscreen. Many were from group chats. Some were reminders from apps or teachers through apps. Others were just notifications for his socials.  _ And an unread message from Val.  _ He shook his head and cleared the message, not wanting to ruin the ‘date’ with texts from his on and off ex girlfriend. He briefly glances at the time. 10:56. It was only about to be 11 am. 

“We should continue with the game. I forgot what number we were on. Let’s just go with free round questions. I still want to know more about you. What do you do with your free time?” 

“I read. Or study. Occasionally watch some tv shows or movies if I feel like it, but I’m usually doing school work or taking care of my uncle. What about you, what do you do?” 

_ So basically she’s saying she never goes out and have fun with some friends. She’d rather read and study than go to a party.  _ That _ doesn’t seem anti social at all. _ “Uh, it depends. I like football. Sometimes I’ll even play a couple games with my brothers. I go to a lot of parties, or hang out with some friends.” It occurred to Jon how different their hobbies and choice of free time were. Not that it truly surprised him, really. From the get-go, Jon always had an inkling that she wasn’t his type. It only made it harder for him now that he knew she was even more closed off and secretive.  _ Any girl Theon. Any other girl and you chose the hardest one. _ Jon mentally cursed his friend from a distance.  _ Probably the prettiest one, but that’s beside the point!  _

“I don’t really like parties. Or loud noises. Or places with too many people in one area at the same time really. It just gets… overwhelming I guess.” He keeps looking at her even as she cringes at herself. “Sorry. That makes it sound like I’m overly sensitive or something.” After that, she begins playing the hem of her dress that sits just below her knees. 

He shakes his head at her. “Don’t be. I get it. Well, maybe not exactly, but I know what you’re talking about.” Jon didn’t feel the need to unload all his deep secrets, deeming it unnecessary to attach himself like that. But something about her just made him want to tell her everything about him, the truth.  _ Maybe not the  _ **_full_ ** _ truth though.  _ Remembering that it was his turn to ask a question now, he looked back at her. She was such a shy and quiet girl, that deep down under, Jon doubted that he had it in him to continue the game he was playing.  _ Especially when she’s the one who’ll fall first and get hurt.  _ Jon knew he could be a complete asshole sometimes (okay almost more than half the time but anyways), he couldn’t be that much of one could he? No, he had to. Theon, Berric, and Edd would all laugh at him and call him a pussy for backing out. He didn’t want them thinking he was. As soon as he did tell them, they’d spread to everyone. Then the whole school would find out how much of a coward he was, which would hurt his reputation. Jon couldn’t have that. What would be left of him after that? 

“Have you ever dated anyone before?” His question came out short and straight to the point. This had to be her first time on a date. There was no way Jon could picture this little flower having dated someone before. But then again, the reason he was asking was to know more about her. 

She look startled at first, then switched to uncomfortable, which immediately stole Jon’s attention. Her fingers found the hem of her dress again, which she started fiddling with. “You could say that.” 

“So you have?” He was beginning to grow tired of her guessing games. 

“Yeah. In sophomore year, I dated someone. He moved away though. His name was Drogo.” 

As soon as the name left her mouth, Jon felt his eyes widen and his jaw drop slightly.  _ Holy shit. She’s dated Drogo.  _ The Drogo who was captain of the varsity team for football before Jon. The Drogo who was a good 2 feet taller than the rest of the school. The Drogo that every girl doted upon and wanted a piece of. 

This little flower in front of him, has dated that beast of a man. 

How was it possible that Jon knew who Drogo was back in their second year, and yet he’d never heard of Dany? It couldn’t have been possible. Everyone knew everything about Drogo, and yet no one had known Dany. He was always with different girls, and not once could he remember any of them being a petite silver-blonde. 

“Are you okay?” She pulls him back from inside his head. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine. I just- wow I never knew that.” 

  
  
“Nobody did.” She half shrugged. After, she reached for a strawberry, taking a small bite out of one into her “It’s fine. The whole thing was a mistake anyways. I don’t want to talk about it.” She ended it right there. 

_ This girl is just full of mysteries isn’t she?  _

No worries, Jon told himself.  _ I’ll find out what they are soon enough.  _

___ 

Dany tried her best to discreetly wipe her palms on her dress, making sure Jon didn’t notice. She was sweating a lot underneath the denim jacket and dress she was wearing. Was it the outfit? The weather? Or was it the fact that she was actually on a date with Jon Snow Stark? Probably the latter, she told herself. She had expected much more for a date with him than what he actually had planned in mind. She expected him to take her to a party, or something that people of his status usually do with their free time.  _ Like going to parties.  _ Instead, he had brought her on a picnic in the park that his family owned, underneath a beautiful weirwood tree that she’d only seen on the internet and in books. He brought a picnic basket with a ton of food and everything.  _ How did she even get in this position?  _ She was just helping him study for his tests and helping him understand his homework. The next thing she knew, she was getting asked out on a date by the most popular guy. And now here they were, sitting and talking while eating underneath a tree. 

Throughout their conversation, Dany was able to learn a little bit more about him. She learned that his favorite color was black (of course), that he skipped a year of school and should technically be a junior (just as she was, imagine her surprise at that), and that as a kid, he loved to go hunting with his brother, Robb. In turn, he had learned that she used to have pet lizards as a child that she would call her ‘dragons’ , her favorite genre in books and movies were fantasies with a mix of action and slight romance, and that she had one of the biggest sweet tooth’s ever. After easing into it a little bit more, they came to a point where they were just talking and laughing with each other, something that Dany enjoyed. They were laughing at some rumor they’d heard about one of their teachers from school, when Jon’s phone started ringing in his pocket. 

“Sorry, let me just take this real quick.” Dany nodded, and he stood up from his seated position, walking a few feet away for the sake of privacy. While he was taking the call, Dany indulged herself in a donut that he’d brought, savoring the sweet taste of it. It had been a while since she was able to buy sweets and treats like this for herself. She usually tried to avoid them as they weren’t good for her uncle, and so she didn’t want to waste the money she’d been given on food that was only for herself. 

“I’m back.” She turned around and saw Jon walking back to his spot and sitting down, taking a cookie from its container. “You like ‘em?” He nodded his head towards the donut that she had in her hand. 

“Yeah, they’re really good. I haven’t had one in a long time.” She smiled before taking another bite out of it, briefly fluttering her eyes closed at the sheer pleasure of eating the donut. When she opened her eyes again, she found Jon staring at her, his brows slightly pinched, looking at her with something dark in his eyes. “What?” 

He shook his head, clearing whatever he was thinking of out of his brain. “Nothing. I’m glad you like ‘em.” He said before resuming his own actions and eating the half eaten cookie in his hand. Dany turned her phone on that was lying next to her hand to check the time.  _ 1:26 _ . They’d been here for nearly 3 hours now, just sitting, talking and eating with each other.  _ Has he not gotten bored of her yet?  _ She guesses not, seeing as he was still here with her.  _ He could just be acting polite and not wanting to hurt your feelings Dany!  _ A part of her yelled at herself.  _ No, Jon Stark has better things to do than sit and act with you Daenerys, quit thinking like that!  _ Another side of her yelled.

“You have a little frosting right here, left corner.” He pointed at the left side of her lips, which she tried licking off with her tongue, but to no avail did she take it off. “Here, let me just..” His sentence trailed off as he reached over to her and wiped the frosting off of her mouth and onto his thumb. She expected him to grab a napkin and wipe it on there, or perhaps wipe it on his pants. What she didn’t expect him to do was lick it off of his thumb.  _ He just licked the frosting that was on my lips from his thumb _ . She looked at him, dumbfounded. He looked at her whilst he did it too, his eyes never leaving hers as his tongue glazed over his finger. Just the look that he was giving her was enough to give her chills that went down her spine. Dany still continued staring even after he put his hand back down and smirking at her as she did so. “You okay there princess?” He called put to her. Immediately, Dany stopped looking at him, snapping her eyes away to look anywhere else but him. 

“I’m fine.” She clicked her phone on again to check the time.  _ 1:34 _ . 

“You anxious or something to leave me then?” He asked her, pointedly looking at her phone.

“N-no. I was just checking up on the time.” She could feel herself blushing at being caught, though she wasn’t exactly being very sneaky about it either. 

“You should come to our game next week. It’s been moved, so we had an extra week of practice this week. It’s on a Thursday night.”  _ Did he not just listen to her explain how large crowds overwhelmed her?  _ “I know you said how you hated places with a lot of people, but it’ll be fun, I promise.”  _ And now the guy could read minds. _

“Um, I’m not sure. I’ll have to see first.” Dany answered, unsure. Missy was trying to get her to come with her to the game too, but Dany had given her the same excuse as she gave Jon.  _ They just aren’t my thing.  _

“Well as soon as you know, text me about it. Think of it as a way of asking you on another date.” 

_ Another date?  _

“Is this your way of asking me out on a second date?” Dany asked, skeptical. She didn’t want to let herself believe that Jon would actually want to go on another date with her. 

Except he was nodding. “Yeah. It is. If you’re going to ask why, it’s because I want to see what this would be like, between us, you know?” Dany’s brows furrowed in confusion.  _ So he just wants to test things out?  _ And what happens when he finds out he doesn’t want to push through with it anymore? What if he sees that there was no point in trying to force a relationship with her, especially with someone with such a tragic past?  _ He’ll leave, that’s what’s going to happen.  _

“Please, Dany. Just give it one shot. It’ll be worth it. I don’t know what happened between you and Drogo before, but if I’m right, and it’s safe to assume that that relationship ruined all relationships for you, then it won’t be like that, I promise. I know I’m saying and making a bunch of promises, but just one chance. That’s all I ask of you. We can go however slow you want to, but I really want to give it a try. Please just trust me on this.” 

He finished his little plea to her, his unique eyes boring into her violet ones, asking.  _ There’s no point. He’ll leave, and you’ll get hurt, and everything will go wrong in the end. That’s how things work. This isn’t a fucking fairytale Daenerys! Grow up!  _

Dany sighed, tired of the comments a part of her yelled at herself.  _ Trust me on this.  _ He was asking her to trust him. Him, being Jon Snow Stark, a guy that just a month and a half ago she didn’t truly know yet. She knew it was typical of a girl her age to say she had trust issues, but Dany believed that it was something she could truly say for herself. 

_ Trust me on this.  _

Trust him to not hurt her? Trust him to not leave her? He was just like Drogo though, wasn't he? Sweet and kind at first, but as time dragged on, became more and more controlling and aggressive. But it also wasn’t fair of her to compare Jon to Drogo. They were two completely different people, no matter their similarities with each other. Didn’t they say the eyes were the windows to ones’ soul? In Drogo, she always saw a tinge of dominance, of the need to control everything and everyone. In Jon, she noticed how no matter how hard he tried to cover himself up with the appearance of tough and cool, she saw the softness in them. Whenever he talked about his family and his siblings, particularly his youngest sister, the gentleness was there. Whenever she was talking about something she loved, no matter how boring it was, he looked like he genuinely was interested in getting to know her and her interests. Drogo pretended to be sweet the entire time she’d gotten to know him, but he couldn’t ever be as gentle as Jon was in the past 3 hours she’s spent with him. 

Her head and heart were at war with each other once again, just as they were when he first asked her out.  _ We can go however slow you want.  _ Dany felt like this was going faster than she thought they really were. But he just said he was willing to go slow, wasn’t he? So what was the big fuss about? Dany knew. She feared being left again. She feared him turning into Drogo and hurting her just as Drogo did to her. She didn’t want to be the shell of a person for the rest of her life. She didn’t want to go through this entire, painful process of over thinking whenever she met someone new.  _ Sometimes not thinking so much through things is a blessing.  _ Dany knew she’d made up her mind.  _ If the head keeps working, the heart starts hurting.  _ It was a quote that she’d read before. One that really applied to her situation. 

Getting outside of her head, Dany turned to Jon once more, a smile fixated on her face. “If it’s a second date, will we get a celebratory pizza party after the game?” Her smile turned to a teasing smirk, which was returned back to her. 

“If that’s what you want princess, then yeah, we can get some pizza.” 

So maybe she was going in blind. What did that matter? Maybe they were moving too fast, despite what she needs and what he said. So what?  _ You’re Daenerys Targaryen. One of the last Targaryens in this world.  _ Sometimes she longed for her parents, for her brothers. For them to guide her into this world full of feelings and emotions. She loved her uncle dearly, she did, but he could only provide so much for her. It was time for her to grow up. She would be Daenerys Targaryen, not someone who was a little fragile snowflake. Targaryens were known for their relations to dragons. Dragons didn’t fear anything. They didn’t fear being left, being hurt. They were dragons. And that’s what she’ll have to be. 

_ A dragon. _

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, I have mixed feelings about this chapter. A lot of it was in Jon's point of view as I decided that I wanted most of the date to be from his head. I also feel like it has some repetitive stuff on it, but I am eager to release this chapter and start another one for you guys. I'm very excited for what I have planned and in store for these two. Much love, and if I don't get the next chapter in time, then Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays, if you don't celebrate it, or just have a happy end of the year).


	7. I met you in the dark, you lit me up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany and Missandei go to the school's first football game of the season. Jon takes Dany on their second date at a familiar pizzeria. Meanwhile, they grow even closer to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! I feel like this one doesn't have as many 'major' things going on, which is why in my head, I'm calling it a (pretty long) filler chapter. But it's however you choose to interpret it. Enjoy :))
> 
> Here is my eve of the eve of Christmas Eve present to you guys. Because I'm impatient like that.

_  
_ Dany’s eyes flashed to her phone, which dinged, a sign of a notification. 

**Jon:** _ Can u go to the game tmrw night?  _

Picking her phone up, she entered her passcode in and went to her messages, opening up Jon’s contact. 

**Dany:** _ Just checked. I can make it :)  _

_  
_ _  
_ She typed a little smiley face next to her response, and pressing send. A smile of her own came to her face as she received a response almost immediately after the message delivered. 

**Jon:** _ Perfect! Do u need a ride?  _

**Dany:** _ No. I’m riding there with a friend. Thanks though.  _

**Jon:** _ What abt on the way back? I can take u after pizza ;) _

“What exactly has you smiling and laughing to yourself like that?” Dany suddenly remembers that there is another person with her in the room, and that she hasn’t been by herself the whole time. 

“Nothing. Just read something.” Dany said to Missy, who was studying on her bed, while Dany was at her desk. 

“From your  _ boyfriend?”  _ Missy teased her in a sing-song voice, causing Dany’s face to redden slightly. 

“He’s not my boyfriend. And yes, he was asking me about the game tomorrow. You’re still taking me there right?” She tried changing the subject, preferably something away from Jon, but it didn’t go past her friend’s head as she hoped it would. 

“Yes, I’m still taking you. And nice try, but you can’t change the subject like that on me Dany. Doesn’t work like that. What’re you guys talking about?” She asked, nodding towards the phone in her hand. 

“He just asked if I needed a ride back after the game. We’re getting pizza after, but after that I guess. I could just tell him you can take me back too.” Dany said, looking back down at her phone to reply to him. 

“ _ No!”  _ Missy yelled, jumping off her bed and grabbing her phone from her. 

“Wh- hey!” Dany tried snatching her phone back from her hands. Missy sat back down on the bed, tucking her legs underneath her, backspacing and deleting whatever Dany started typing. 

“You are you going to tell him that I can’t take you home after the game because I have a psych test the next day that I need to study for. After the game, and after your little pizza date, he can take you back home.” Missy ordered her to type, leaving Dany confused. “You should spend some more time with him. Ever since your guys’ date last week, you’ve been talking nonstop about him.”    
  


“I have not-” 

  
“Hush, you know I’m right. I’m really excited for you Dany, and you should be too. So start texting your boyfriend who’s not your boyfriend.” 

  
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Dany muttered under her breath as she typed the text out.

**Dany:** _ I might need a ride back after the pizza then. If that’s okay with you.  _

She looked up at Missandei, who was smirking at her. “Will you stop that?” She was growing uncomfortable under Missy’s stare at her. 

“Stop what? I’m just helping you with your boyf-” 

  
  
“He’s not my boyfriend Missy. I’ve said it like three times already.” She raised an eyebrow back at Dany. “We’ve been on one date. That’s it. That doesn’t qualify him to be my boyfriend right away.” 

“You’re going on another date tomorrow night, after his first football game of the season. And then I’m sure he’ll ask you again on another one, then another after that. Will you keep denying your relationship after your 5th date?”    


  
_ If we even make it to the 3rd,  _ Dany thought to herself, albeit a bit negatively. “Let’s get the second date over with first. Then we’ll see.”

“I’m just saying Dany. After all the time you’ve spent before trying to convince me that you didn’t have a crush on him anymore, it certainly seems like you’ve done a complete 180º. You always tell me of how you’re always talking with each other in class. You’ll text him sometimes during lunch too, even when you could simply just walk a few feet to his side of the cafeteria. And it’s only been four days since your first date with him. Imagine when you guys are like, official. Now that’s gonna be cute.”    


  
Dany rolled her eyes at her friend’s comments. She didn’t think Missy understood the magnitude of the situation. She and Jon were not in a relationship. They were just in that ‘talking’ stage with each other. It certainly hasn’t stopped him from indulging in the flirtings of other girls with him. The only thing that’s changed is that she’s actually part of his attentions now.  _ How would it feel like to have all of his attention though….  _

“I see that smile you’re trying to hide. Have faith in the both of you Dany. I can’t wait to see you two as a couple soon.” 

Sighing, Dany decided to just drop it, allowing Missy to continue saying what she believes in.  _ Jon Snow is not my boyfriend….  _ So then why couldn’t she stop smiling at the image of him if he was? 

___

“You’re going to the game right?” 

Jon grabbed a small towel from his duffel bag and wiped it over his face, getting rid of the sweat on it as he asked his three friends. He’d met up with them just after football practice had ended, as they were in the parking lot with a juul. 

“Probably. If I don’t get grounded before then.” Theon inhaled the vapor, before exhaling it out again. 

“It’s tomorrow night Theon. Can’t you behave your ass down for at least 24 hours?” Jon asked him exasperated. He grabbed a water bottle from his bag, gulping nearly all of it down.

“I can probably make it.” Beric told him.    


  
“Same here.” Edd replied, snatching the juul out of Theon’s hands for a taste. 

“We’ll see Snow, we’ll see. D’you think we could grab some food after the game? Or will you be too busy celebrating with your team?” Theon asked him, giving Edd the finger for snatching from him. 

Jon looked up at him for a moment. “Uh, no I can’t. Sorry. Already have plans after the game.” He remembered his scheduled date with Dany for pizza after.  _ Speaking of…  _ “Oh hey, I’ve made progress on your stupid bet game thing.” Jon pretended to be as nonchalant as he could about it. It didn’t skip past him the way Theon’s eyes glinted mischievously as he smirked. 

“Oh, have you now? And how is that?” He had all of Theon’s attention now, as his hands clasped in front of him and he leaned in towards him. 

“Asked her out,” Jon shrugged. “We went on a date last week, she asked for another one after the game tomorrow.”  _ Okay, so maybe that last one was a half lie, but still.  _

“And?” 

  
  
Jon frowned. “What do you mean ‘and’?” 

His friend rolled his eyes. “What have you got from her so far?” 

“What have I got about her so far? What do you want me to tell you?” 

  
  
He rolled his eyes again. “How long do you think it will take, do you think she’ll break first, what’s her life like, you know, anything? You’re a dumbass sometimes.”    
  


“You want me to tell you everything she’s told me so far?” He asked him incredulously. Surely Theon wouldn’t ask that much of him, would he? He’s proven wrong. Of course he would ask him just that. 

“Yes. Keep up Jon.” 

Jon snorts at his stupidity. “It’s going to take a while, that’s what I know. I have a feeling  _ she’ll  _ be the one to break first, so you better get your $200 ready Theon.”

“Hold your horses there, Snow. You never know. It could be  _ you _ who has to get there  _ $400  _ ready. And what’s she like? How come we’ve never heard about her before? I’ve seen her a few times now. She could be hot as hell, but she never seems to talk.” 

_ You don’t know her like I do.  _ Jon shook his head and silently laughed at himself. He’d been friends with her for only about two months now and had gone on one date, and yet here he was pretending he knew Dany like the back of his hand.  _ Not that I wouldn’t mind that..  _ “She’s shy. She keeps a lot of things to herself. She only ever interacts with her one best friend. She’s incredibly smart, unlike you idiots. She prefers to read and stay inside than go to a party. What else do you want to know? That’s basically what she told me.” 

Okay, so maybe he lied again to his friends. Where’s the harm in that? He didn’t feel the need to tell them every single tiny detail about her. They didn’t need to know how beautiful she looked on Saturday in her outfit. They didn’t need to know the way she blushed a soft red whenever he complimented, praised, or simply pointed something out for her. They didn’t need to know the way her eyes lowered and her expression saddened whenever he got near the topic of family. They certainly didn’t need to know the way her teeth bit into her lower lip slightly or the way her lips softly curved when she smiled, or the way she turned the atmosphere around her soft and peaceful just as she was, or the way-

“I don’t see why you’re taking this so slow. Are you scared or something?” Theon’s annoying voice brought him out of his thoughts of Daenerys.  _ Dany.  _

He regretted bringing up the whole bet thing now, knowing that Theon would not let it go until he got answers he was satisfied with. 

“No. Why would I be scared? This kind of stuff takes time to actually work. She’ll be a tough one to crack Theon, I already told you this. You gotta be patient man. This was your idea in the first place.” 

That seem to actually sit in Theon’s head, unlike literally everything else. “Whatever. I can’t be patient for too long. I wanna take blondie for a spin before we’re out of this hellhole forever. Maybe even show her how a real man treats her.”  
  
  
Never has Jon wanted to punch him more than he did right now. It wasn’t the diss at him that made him angry at Theon. It was the lack of respect. Maybe Jon didn’t understand what it was about Dany, but he knew that she wasn’t someone to be disrespected like that. They didn’t know who she really was. Then again, neither did he, not completely anyways. But he knew enough to know that her life wasn’t a relaxing vacation in Dorne during the summer. And it only increased his need to punch Theon more. But he controlled himself. Instead, Jon shook his head at him, putting duffel bag at the end of his bike to secure it, before riding off home, not saying a word to the three of them as he left. 

___

“Oh come on Dany. Can’t you show just a little bit of school spirit? This is your first football game since you went to the Homecoming game in our  _ freshman  _ year. Lighten up, have some fun. You never know when you’ll get this opportunity again.” 

Missy gently berated her for her outfit to the football game. It was a simple outfit. Just her regular shoes, paired with her jeans and a warm sweater to keep her from shivering in the open, cool nighttime air. Their school colors were blue and grey, yet Dany had chosen to wear her favorite ruby red colored sweater.  _ Rhaegar’s old sweater.  _ She shrugged instead. 

“It’s fine. I’ll stay like this.” And with that, Dany climbed into the passenger seat of her car and they drove off to the school’s stadium. 

.

Dany could feel her eyes widen at the sight of the parking lot being filled to the brim with cars. How were they supposed to park now? Missy would have to look for a spot that was almost a mile worth of a walk to the stadium. Both she and Dany shared the same disappointed look as Missy slowly drove in the parking lot, looking for some sort of miracle that maybe someone overlooked a spot. But to no avail did they find one. Sighing, Missy steered the wheel to exit the parking lot when she heard someone calling after her. 

_ “Dany!”  _ She looked out the window to see who was calling her. Missy seemed to hear it too, as she stopped the car slowly. Dany was surprised to see who it was. 

“Jon?” It was Jon who jogged after their car, glancing to make sure no other car was coming. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be inside already?” Dany wasn’t anywhere near familiar with the way of football and sports, but she was pretty sure that the football players had to be there well before the football game even started. 

“Had to go grab something from my bike really quickly. Where are you guys going? I thought you were staying for the game?” He nodded to Missy, who pretended not to hear their conversation, but inside, Dany knew she was being snickered at. 

“We couldn’t find a parking spot. We’ll just have to park pretty far I guess. I might not make it to the first quarter of the game.” Dany told him in an apologetic tone. She could almost see Jon thinking about it. 

“Take my spot then. I just have my motorcycle. I can park in the staff area. Nobody’s here to tell me otherwise.” 

“Are you sure Jon? I don’t want you to have to miss out on your game. You are the star player after all.” 

He shook his head. “Nah, you’re fine. They won’t start without me anyways. Here, follow me.” 

  
  
Jon went to the sidewalk and waited for Missy to drive the car around, and he walked them to his spot. They stayed a few feet away, allowing Jon space to reverse his bike out of the parking spot. When he was out, Missy drove in, securing it. True to his word, Jon drove around and parked in the staff area, and walked back to them as the two girls exited out of the car. 

“Glad you can make it. You don’t believe in school spirit or somethin’?” She could hear the tease in his voice as Jon asked her, eyeing her clothing. 

“That’s what  _ I  _ told her. But she’s forever stubborn like that. Also hi, I’m Missandei, her best friend. ” Missy interjected and introduced herself to him, the first time she ever spoke to Jon. Dany gave her a look, but it wasn’t a serious one. 

“Guess silver girl’s always just like that huh? And I’m sure you already know who I am.” 

“Oh believe me, I do.” Missy gave Dany a sly grin, which Dany returned with a playful sneer. 

“Silver girl?” She turned back and asked him, amused at the nickname. He nodded. 

“Yes, silver girl. I have other nicknames for you.” 

“I look forward to hearing some of those nicknames then.” Dany smiled, and looked over at Missy, who was smirking at the two. Dany immediately looked away before a blush could appear, looking straight ahead instead. 

Since the football game was a home one, they didn’t need to pay for their tickets, and got in free instead. As they walked through the opening of the stadium. Dany gulped, and tried to school her expression into a calm one as she saw the amount of people seated inside.  _ There was so many.  _ She didn’t she’d ever seen this many people together in one place. It was so loud inside too, except it was just a result of so many people talking all at once. They weren’t even cheering or yelling for the game. She didn’t realize she’d stop walking with Jon and Missy until she felt a hand rest on the small of her back, causing her to jump slightly. 

“Woah, hey calm down. It’s just me.” The sound of Jon’s voice snapped her out, and she looked up at him. “You gonna be okay?” His voice was gentle, and so were his eyes. He sounded like he was genuinely concerned. 

“Yeah.” She nodded her head vigorously, as if to prove her point when she was only doing the opposite. “I’m good.” 

He looked at her with a look that said ‘I know you’re lying’ and shook his head. “I know there’s a lot of people, and I won’t lie to you, it’s only going to get louder than this. But I really do appreciate you makin’ time to come to this game. Especially knowing you hate almost everything about this, it really means a lot to me Dany. Thank you.” 

  
  
_ Can he stop being so sweet? _ Dany felt like pelting him for whatever it was he was making her feel on the inside with his words. She mumbled out an ‘of course’, then continued walking. 

“I saved you guys a seat earlier. Over here.” Jon led them to their spots. It was the front row of the stadium seats, with only the concrete railing in front of them that separated the seats and the field. “You should get a good view from here.” He winked at them and chuckled lightly. 

“Thank you.” She thanked him for the seats, and with a tone that suggested she was thanking him for the small act of reassurance and comfort he gave her earlier. 

“No problem. I gotta go start getting ready. Game’s about to start. I’ll see you later. Nice meeting you.” He nodded the last part to Missy who returned it and then went off to go rejoin his team on the sideline of the field. Dany took the seat on Missy’s left, ignoring her look. 

_ “He’s not my boyfriend Missy.”  _ Dany whipped her head to Missy, who was mocking her words. 

“What are you doing?” Dany asked, half laughing at her antics. 

“Mocking you.” 

“Obviously. For what?” 

“Oh Dany. Poor, oblivious Dany. It’s okay, you’ll catch up soon.” It was all Missy said, giving her a wink and smile to pretend she was innocent. Dany gave her a weird look, then turned and faced forward as she heard the guy in the speaker announce the start of the game. Her eyes quickly found Jon’s figure as he called his teammates over and ordered them into a huddle, most definitely speaking of their game plan. 

It was then that it dawned on Dany that Jon had kept his hand to the small of her back the entire time from the moment they entered the stadium until he left for the game. 

. 

It was indeed  _ very loud,  _ Dany couldn’t help but think to herself. She visibly cringed as the crowd all around her erupted into loud cheers, screams, and yells as the Winterfell Wolves scored yet another touchdown. It was the last quarter of the game, and the Wolves had a lead of 23-19. Their opponents were the Deepwood Motte’s Knights. It was said that they were one of the toughest teams to beat up here in the North. But they were no match for the fierce pack of wolves that Winterfell High proudly showcased. Despite the loud people, which she did her absolute best not to start panicking for, Dany stood up from her seat just like everyone else, trying to get a better look of the players on the field.  _ And maybe the team captain..  _

Looking past the blur of the players on the field, her eyes managed to spot the one who sported the number 7 on his jersey.  _ Jon.  _ He was currently holding the football in his hands, running at a speed she’d never seen a human run at before, trying to reach the opponent’s side to score and secure the last points. 

However, time seemed to slow down for Dany as she noticed one of Deepwood’s Knights running perpendicular to him, almost as fast as he. She released a sharp gasp, just as the crowd went silent as the Knight tackled Jon to the ground. It took only moments (that felt like hours) when the referee ran over to them, the Knight getting off of Jon as the referee checked the football, was the victory announced. Winterfell High had won the first game of the season. The crowd burst into cheers and yells again at the win, some confetti being released from their cannons. Dany, however, didn’t care about the victory. She cared about the man that still layed on the grassy ground of the football field. She saw as his team began making their way over to him, huddling over him to make sure he was okay. Dany held her breath. 

_ Please be okay.  _

It surprised her just how much she cared for someone she’d known in such a short period of time. She released an audible sigh (though it wasn’t really audible with all the noise) when she saw Jon getting up from the ground, speaking a few words to the team before they engulfed him in a team hug for their win, the act putting a smile on Dany’s face. The team walked over to the sidelines, where there gear and water sat on the benches and their coach awaited for them. 

She didn’t know what on earth seemed to possess her at the moment, but soon she found her legs taking her to where Jon was, who was seated on one of the benches as he gulped down some water, ignoring Missy’s calls for her. Was she even allowed to be down here? Dany was sure she would be mortified of her actions later, but right now, she just wanted to make sure Jon was okay. He glanced to his right before doing a double take and stood up. 

“Dany? What are you doing down here?” He sounded like he was out of breath, and for a good reason. 

“I-I don’t know.” She was genuinely confused with her own actions as well. “I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

Her concern seemed to bring a smile to his face as he nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m gonna have a nasty bruise tomorrow morning with a sore as hell arm, but I’ll be okay. Thank you for your concern though. I appreciate it.”    


  
She gave him a smile of her own. “Yeah. Oh, and congratulations on your guys’ win. You did amazing.” Her praise to him seemed to bring a blush to his face, which pleasantly surprised her. She didn’t think she’d ever see Jon Stark blush. 

“Thanks. I guess it really could use some celebrating with pizza huh?” She smiled and nodded with him. “I’m gonna need like, 15 or 20 minutes though. Gotta hit the showers and change before we can go out. Do you mind waiting?” He asked her politely. 

Dany shook her head. “No, of course I don’t. Where do you want me to wait for you?” 

“You can wait just outside of the locker rooms. You won’t see anything, I can promise you that.” She exhaled a laugh out at his joke and nodded. Following him to the locker rooms. Outside, there was a bench, which she took a seat on. Dany grabbed for her phone that was in her pocket, shooting a quick apology text to Missy for leaving her like that. 

**Missy:** _ Don’t worry about it. I met up with Grey afterwards anyways… tell Jon great job at the game for me! Oh, and enjoy your date ;) I want to know all the details tomorrow.  _

Dany chortled and rolled her eyes at the winking face emoticon Missy sent and the sentence that followed. Her friend could be one of the most wisest people she ever knew who gave the greatest advice and was just too incredibly smart, to being a complete tease and a joker. For several minutes, Dany sat outside scrolling through her phone to entertain her as she waited patiently for Jon. A few minutes later, he was out, his hair still a bit wet from the shower, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Dany had to bite the inside of her cheek  _ hard,  _ to prevent herself from blushing like a maiden. He certainly wasn’t the most bad looking person even with wet hair. 

“You ready to go?” Dany nodded, turning her phone off and shoving it back into her pocket. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

  
  
They walked side by side in silence back to Jon’s motorcycle, quietly (and maybe secretly) enjoying the other’s company. He secured his duffel into place and unlatched the second helmet he brought with him for her to wear. Dany put it on, making sure it was on right and facing the correct way. Then she climbed on the bike behind Jon. She was still hesitant about wrapping her arms around him, but she forced herself to do it anyways. She guesses that Jon was waiting for her to do so, for as soon as she latched her arms around his waist, he started the engine, backing up and driving away. 

. 

They arrived at the town’s local pizza place, called Davos’ Pizzeria. As soon as Jon parked his motorcycle and turned the engine off, Dany hopped off, taking the helmet off and giving it to him to put away. As they stepped inside the pizzeria, Dany was immediately filled with the smells of fresh baked pizzas, dough, and even breadsticks. She took a moment to herself to inhale the scents, letting it fill her on the inside. It felt warm and fulfilling for her. 

“Smells pretty good in here huh?” Jon’s voice prompted her to open her eyes again to look up at him. She immediately nodded, agreeing with his statement. 

“Yeah, it smells great.” 

  
  
Jon smiled, then led her to the front counter to order their food. At the register, an old man awaited them with a jolly smile.

“Welcome to Davos’ Pizzeria. Been a while, ain’t it Jon?” The old man chuckled. Dany looked between the two, confused. He seemed to personally know Jon. 

“Aye, it has. Good to see you again Davos.” He even reached his hand over to shake the man’s hand. “Oh, this here’s Dany. Dany, this is Davos, he owns the place.” Dany gave him a kind smile, but wasn’t anywhere near brave enough to shake his hand like Jon had. 

“It’s good to meet ya here dear. You young lads know what ya want?” 

Dany skimmed the large menu of food items that was mounted on the wall behind him. Meanwhile, Jon already seem to know his order. “Just a medium supreme for me tonight Davos.” The man, Davos, nodded and typed his order in to the machine in front of him. Then the two men looked at Dany, who was startled as she still skimmed the menu, unsure of what she wanted. 

“Uh. I’ll-I’ll have the- the, uh,”  _ Shit, _ now she’s here stuttering like an idiot in front of them both. She swallowed hard and cleared her voice, not wanting to sound like a frog when she spoke. Quickly, her eyes found a random pizza order and her mouth spoke it, her brain not having the time to process whether it was an item that she actually wanted. “The pineapple pizza. Small.” She added the last part in curtly. Dany wasn’t sure whether he got what she said, but he seemed to have, as he smiled and placed her order. 

“Two pizzas comin’ up! Oh, don’t bother boy,” Davos stopped Jon as he reached in his back pocket for his wallet. “On the house t’night. Enjoy yourselves.” He reached around the counter and gave them two soda cups. Jon nodded and smiled.

“Thanks Davos.” 

“Anytime.” 

With that, Jon and Dany walked to the soda machine. He allowed her to go first and choose her drink. She pressed the button for lemonade, holding her cup under the nozzle, removing the cup once it reached to her desired amount. Then she stepped back, allowing Jon to get his drink. He had chosen to get the Coca-Cola, filling his cup until it could barely spill over the edge. After that, they walked to the tables, sitting where they pleased as they were the only customers at this time at night. As they waited for their food, Dany decided to be the one to start a conversation. 

“You seem to be familiar with the owner.” 

“I am. He’s a pretty friendly guy, so it isn’t really hard to be. He was friends with my parents, a while back, but they grew apart because that’s just how life works. The first time I came here was around 6th grade. Since then, I’m pretty much a regular.” 

  
  
Dany listened intently as he explained his relation to the man. “He said you hadn’t been here in a while.” 

  
  
“Got pretty busy, I guess. But I intend on being regular here again. I didn’t realize how much I missed this place. What about you, what do you think of it.” 

  
  
_ I think I embarrassed myself when I stuttered stupidly in front of your friend.  _ “It’s nice. It’s pretty clean too. Not all pizza places care about the cleanliness of their restaurant. The guy, Davos, he had a pretty weird accent though. Doesn’t sound like he’s from here.”    
  


Jon smiled at her observation. “Aye, you’re right, he isn't. He’s from down south actually. Flea Bottom.” 

Dany nodded, but started chuckling softly to herself. 

“What’re you laughing about?” 

  
  
“Since when have you said ‘aye’?” Dany’s smile grew as Jon reddened at her discovery. She noticed how he had used the term earlier when speaking to Davos as well. 

“I don’t.” She could hear him grumble, most likely to himself. 

“Oh, come on. Tell me.” Dany teased him a bit. 

“It’s just a thing I used to say, but I don’t anymore. Guess it just slipped my mind.”

“And why don’t you say it anymore?” 

“It’s embarrassing Dany.” To add effect, he even covered his face with his hands, prompting Dany to laugh a little more. 

“It probably isn’t. What could possibly be embarrassing about you?” 

  
He peeked an eye out of his covered face through his fingers. “Many things.” 

  
“Like?” She drew out the word from her mouth. Jon sighed, sitting up straight, but not looking her in the eyes as he whispered something she couldn’t quite catch. “Sorry, I didn’t quite get that.” 

“I said, my real accent.” She grew confused at his statement. 

“Your real accent? You have a different accent?” Dany questioned him.  _ How had she not heard about this?  _

“I do. It’s my family’s northern accent. Mostly my dad’s side actually. I don’t really talk much in it though anymore. But I guess it just slips through every once in a while.” 

Dany didn’t understand why he was so embarrassed about it. In fact, she wanted to hear him talk in it. “You should talk with it then. I wanna hear it.” 

He looked at her in the eyes, his brows squeezed together. “You want to  _ hear it _ ?’ He asked her in disbelief. She nodded, confirming. 

“Yeah. I’ve never heard of it, nor have I ever heard you even having one. So go.” 

  
He stared at her blankly. “No.” 

Dany pouted. “Why not?” 

  
“Because it’s embarrassing, that’s why.” 

  
  
“It’s just us in here, Jon. How about this; you speak in your original accent this entire date, or I’m not going on a third one with you.” 

  
  
His mouth hung open as she gave her proposal “You  _ want  _ to go on a third one with me?” 

“Of course.”  _ No, shit, wait, what is he saying? Does he not want to go on a third one with me? Gods Dany, you’re so stupid, you walked right into that one!  _ “Uh, I mean- I meant. Wait- you don’t? I was just saying..” Her voice trailed off as Jon interrupted her. 

“No. Yes? Wait no, what I meant was, you actually want to go on another date? I mean it’s great if you do want to.” 

Here they were, stuttering after one another. “If you want to. I won’t expect a third one if you don’t want it.” 

  
  
“No, no of course I want it. I was just, making sure, you know? Sorry.”

_ This conversation just took a really weird turn.  _ Now what was she supposed to say?

  
  
“Back to what you were saying; you want me to talk in my original accent this entire time?”    
  


Dany nodded, grateful for the subject change to forget about whatever awkwardness they stumbled into just now. “Yup.” 

  
  
“Or you won’t go on the third date with me?” 

  
  
“That’s the plan.” She said as she nodded. He shook his head slowly, trying to seem offended, but the smile he fought to keep off his face said otherwise. 

“You’re terrible.” She gave him an innocent smile in response. Right then, their pizza came, being delivered by the owner himself. 

“Here ya lads go! Careful, it’s hot. Hope ya ‘njoy it!” With that, he walked away from that, whistling to himself a tune that Dany somehow recognized. 

Dany turned back to Jon, who was smirking at her as he slowly took a bit out of his pizza. She rolled her eyes at his play. “Oh, whatever! You can talk after you eat.” She narrowed her eyes at him, but a smile kept her from making it look serious, as she took a bit out of her own pizza. 

. 

Once they finished their pizza and bid Davos a good night, the two went outside to Jon’s motorcycle. 

“That was some  _ really _ good pizza. Do you agree?” Dany eyed him, as she tried to casually unlatch the second helmet for herself. She pulled at it once, but it didn’t come off. She glanced over at Jon, who looked at her with amusement, and she gave him a nervous chuckle as she tried taking it off again. She was about to give up when she felt his hands go over hers, placing it in the correct place to take the helmet off. She held the helmet to her right side and looked at him. 

“Aye, I did like it. It’s been a while since I had it.” 

  
  
The sound of his accent, his  _ real, true  _ accent caught her somewhat off guard. It was deeper than the one she’s always heard him talk in. There was a husk or burr to it that made it seem hard to understand at first, but she knew what he said. He smirked at her as she tried to process this new discovery. It shocked her just how  _ attractive  _ it sounded. She didn’t think the guy could get any hotter than this, but  _ holy hell.  _ Dany was sure that if he spoke like this at school, he’d no doubt get the attention of even the teachers, as all the girls were already slobbering over him. 

“Is it bad?” He asked her suddenly when she didn’t say anything, his voice sheepish. 

“What? No, of course it’s not! It-it sounds nice. Yeah, nice. You should talk like that more. It really suits you.” Bloody hell, now she was rambling again. 

“I wish I could.” 

  
  
“Why can’t you?” 

He looked at her, sadness suddenly overtaking his eyes, before it went away just as quick as it came. “No reason. I just can’t. I think you might be the only one who’s heard it, apart from my family of course.” 

At that, she was surprised. There was no way nobody at the school had ever heard his accent. If what he was saying was true, she felt both honoured and confused. Honoured that he trusted her enough to reveal that part of himself, but confused as to why he won’t reveal it to anybody else. But she of all people should know what it feels like to want to hide everything about yourself away from everybody else. So she nodded, understandingly so. 

“Well thank you for letting me hear. Even if I did ask for it. It’s a shame you don’t use it more often. It’s really,  _ nice  _ to hear.” She wishes that there was a better word to describe how it sounded to her ears. “I suppose you want to know something about me in return.” She looked up at him for confirmation, but all he gave her was his eyes, not widened, but just big, staring at her. 

“No. I’m not expecting anythin’ from you. You don’t have to, if you don’t want.” 

  
Now Dany felt ashamed of herself. She forced Jon to reveal a secret he wanted to keep, yet here he was saying she didn’t have to give him any information in return. But she felt as if she needed to give him something. If not for in return, then for the sake of knowing her even better. She sucked in a breath before she said anything. “Well, I’ll tell you something anyway.” She wouldn’t tell him the full thing. Not yet, anyways.  _ Maybe some other day, if we get there.  _ She watched as he waited patiently for her to say something. “The reason I live with my uncle, is because, well, the rest of my family is dead. They all died when I was six years old.” 

At the reveal of information, Jon’s eyes grew and his eyebrows raised. Then they lowered, and his expression was one of sorrow and sadness. She refused to look him in the eyes though, instead focusing her line of vision at the ground. She didn’t see him, but she felt him move slightly closer to her. 

“I’m sorry.” His accent was such a comfort to her ears, they almost burst with pleasure at hearing it. 

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. It was a long time ago anyways. I’m done mourning them.” 

  
Dany ended the conversation there, putting her helmet on and throwing her leg over the bike, waiting for Jon to take his seat as well. He waited though and stood there looking at her, before he followed her actions, and they drove home. 

. 

They reached her apartment complex. Dany expected him to stay on his bike and leave once she got off. She didn’t expect him to turn the engine off and get off with her. She took her helmet off and allowed him to put it back in its place, next to his helmet. Then he even walked with her inside the building. Then inside the elevator. Then all the way until she reached her apartment door. That’s when she turned to him. 

“I’m sorry for turning our date into that. I didn’t mean to make it sad like that or anything.” She hoped he wouldn’t take it against her. 

He shook his head. “You didn’t ruin it. I’m glad you told me. Thank you for trusting me with that. I can’t imagine how hard this must have been for you this entire time.”    
  
He was understanding with her, something she hadn’t felt from a man other than her uncle in years. “I’m doing better now.” He nodded in response, and they stood there together silently for a moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” She asked, just to break the silence and avoid any awkwardness. 

“Yeah. Then I’ll see you for our third date. I’ll tell you tomorrow where we’re going.”    
  
With that he smiled, and she returned it. Unready for any physical affection that he might’ve given her, she turned away, grabbing her keys to open the door. Once it opened, she turned back to look at Jon, who was walking back to the elevator. 

“Hey Jon?” She called out, grabbing his attention. “Thank you, for walking me up here.” He said nothing, but gave her a brief smile, right as the elevator dinged. 

“You’re welcome.” Then he walked inside the elevator, away from Dany’s sight. 

Inside Jon, he felt an emotion stirring inside. He didn’t quite know yet what to name it, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t a good one. Especially seeing as where he felt it coming from. 

His heart was trying to tell him something, but he refuses to listen. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it folks. I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I called it a filler chapter because it doesn't have too much going on, save for the date and the game, but that's it. It does, however, have some major key points in regards to Jon and Daenerys. I know many of you are highly frustrated with Jon's actions and his current mindset, but that is the point for right now. As I continue to post more chapters, he will begin to reveal some of his (hopefully) redeeming qualities. Chapter 8 should be done and posted around the end of the week, but we'll see. Happy Holidays!


	8. They can't steal the love we're born to find

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany witnesses something that plagues her with doubts. Jon has to figure out a way to fix his mistake. An important decision is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas (to those that celebrate it)! I've been working a bunch to try and get this chapter out just in time before the day ends! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter quite yet, but you guys let me know. Also, bear with me, I have no idea how the Westerosi/ASOIAF currency works (I know there's like, golden dragons, silver stags, and all that stuff) so I decided to just stick with the U.S currency. Many of you may have noticed that many of these chapters are majorly from Dany's point of view. It's fun to write for Jon too, but it's a lot easier for me to write from Dany's perspective (half to do with the fact that she's a girl, and, well, so am I. But if the event makes more sense in Jon's view, I'll definitely switch it over.) 
> 
> I forgot to explain this in the last chapter, but I clearly don't know anything about football, but I am going to have to write about a few of Jon's football games, so just bear with me. 
> 
> p.s I know it says this was published on the 26th of December, but it's the 25th over here, so, yeah  
> Without further adieu, chapter 8 :)

“I don’t understand why you don’t just call him your boyfriend, and call it a day. You’re making it way more complicated than it has to be.”    


  
Dany sighed hard. This was the  _ third  _ time Missy had brought up the subject. She loved her best friend to bits and pieces, she truly did. She was practically her sister. But even sisters get a little bit annoying sometimes. 

“I am not.” Dany denied Missy’s claims. 

“Yes you are. You’re thinking way too hard about this stuff. You’ve been on dates with him. Dates, with an ‘s’. That means multiple. What do you call people who go on dates?  _ Dating!”  _ Missy half yelled and exclaimed. Dany didn’t listen to her though.

“He’s not my boyfriend Missy. I don’t see why you can’t understand that.” 

“Dany, if anything, you’re the one who doesn’t understand that. How many dates have you guys gone one?” 

Dany immediately backed down, lowering her eyelids as she stared at the floor to avoid Missy’s stare. However, she could feel the smug look she was being given without even looking up at the giver of it. 

So what, they went on their third date? Then another one after that. Then two more after those ones... That didn’t mean he was her boyfriend right? Dany was pretty sure he wasn’t. They weren’t official.  _ Not yet anyways.  _ She was pretty sure Jon still flirted with all the others girls, which  _ totally  _ didn’t have an affect on her at all. After all, he wasn’t her boyfriend, and she wasn’t his girlfriend. He wasn’t bound to her by any way or means. Yet it didn’t stop her from feeling  _ something  _ inside her for him. No matter how much she tried to ignore it. And she tried ignoring it very much. 

They still kept up with their tutoring sessions, just not as frequent as before. She was still able to teach him a few things here and there. 

“Is it because you’re waiting for him to properly ask you to be ‘please be his girlfriend’ in those exact literal words?” Missy inquisited. 

Was she? Was that what Dany was waiting for? She didn’t even know what she wanted him from him, let alone know if she wanted him to make it official between them. She wasn’t 100% certain she was ready to open herself like that, despite all the time they’d spent together and all the information they’d shared with each other. “I don’t know yet. Is that okay?” Dany settled for that response instead. Thankfully, Missy was just as understanding as she was nosy. 

Nodding, she answered. “Of course. I just, you know, I just wanted you to see whatever it is that’s going on between you two.” 

They closed their conversation there, rounding the corner of the big hallways of their high school, avoiding passing by students. It was the last passing period before lunch time, and Dany and Missandei walked together to their lockers to place some of their stuff away. Their lockers, thankfully, weren’t very far away from each other, just about 3 lockers away from each other. As they turned the last corner, Missy’s eyes widened, and she tried pushing Dany back. 

“Wh-” Dany grew confused as Missy blocked her walking path and tried to drag her away. “Missy, what are you doing?” 

Missy had her by her arm, half dragging her farther away from her desired destination. “Uh, I just realized I forgot something in Mr. Selmy’s class. I gotta run back and get it really quick.” 

Dany stared at her friend with a muddled expression. She clearly didn’t believe whatever lie Missy was trying to feed her. “I don’t understand. Why can’t we just put our stuff away first then go back for it? Mr. Selmy won’t let anyone take it, no matter what it is.” She tried to push back her friend and walk back to the corner, but Missy blocked her again. Dany was growing agitated at whatever she was trying to hide. “Missy-” 

“It’s really important Dany. My parents are going to kill me if I lose it.”    


  
“What did you lose exactly?”    


  
“Uh, I forgot my phone.” As soon as she said that, Missy’s phone rang with a notification in her hand. Dany raised an eyebrow at the failed lie, then shook her head and walked past her to get to her locker. 

Once she rounded the corner that Missy was trying to push her away from, Dany was (not so pleasantly) greeted with a sight she didn’t need to see. There, just on the other side of her locker, was Jon talking with three other girls, their expressions anything far from platonic. Even worse, one of the girls were standing just a tad  _ too  _ close to Jon, her perfectly manicured nails lightly scratching and trailing up and down his bicep, and he didn’t seem to mind just one bit. Behind Dany, she could hear Missy breathing deeply, most definitely upset with what Jon was doing. 

“Dany, I’m sorry-” 

“Don’t be.” Dany turned back to look at her. “It’s fine. I don’t care.”    
  


Missy of all people knew Dany cared more than she would ever let on. Taking a silent breath to herself, Dany pretended to ignore Jon and his ‘friends’ and walked to her locker, opening it and shoving her stuff inside. She must have gotten Jon’s attention, as he stood up from the locker he’d been leaning on and looked next to him.    


  
“Dany?” 

She ignored him, putting the rest of her stuff inside her locker quickly, as she felt her face growing extremely hot under the attention that she’d managed to gain as Jon and all three girls stared at her. Her arms moved frantically, some of her books from her locker falling out.  _ “Shit.”  _ Dany muttered a curse under her breath as she tried to reach down and take the fallen book from the floor. She was beat to it when a larger, pale hand came into her vision, and another was placed on her shoulder. 

“Dany, hey, calm down. Here.” She could hear Jon calling out to her, his voice softly the way it usually was when he spoke to her. She didn’t bother looking up at Jon as she took the book from his hand. Once she held her hand out to take it, she became aware of how hard her hands were trembling. Quickly, she snatched the book and threw it in her locker and shut it closed, not bothering to spare a glance at Jon. 

“Dany, wait!” 

_ Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.  _

“Hey, look at me.” She felt his hands turn her around. “Will you stop running and tell me what’s going on with you?”    


  
At that, she felt herself grow hot, but with anger this time. “What’s going on with me? I don’t know Jon, why don’t you tell me. You seemed pretty cozy with Wynafryd, Wylla, and Alys over there a minute ago.” She rolled her eyes and snorted at herself, every word and action coming from her boiling with sardonicism and contempt. “I don’t even know why I care so much.” 

He looked around confused for a moment, moving her with his hands that were still on her shoulders to the side to move out of the way, nodding to some people who passed by and called out his name. “What are you talking about?” 

“You know what I’m talking about.” Dany practically hissed out at him. She winced to herself. Even she was surprised with how she was acting. Rarely ever did she lash out like this to anyone. 

He was still confused, as he searched her face, as if the answer was there somewhere. Either it was on her face, or she remembered his mistake, as she watched as his eyes widened in realization. “Dany-”   


  
She was relieved when the school bell chose that moment to ring and signal the start of class, and harshly pulled herself away from his grasp. “Don’t touch me again.” It was all she said to him as she walked away and left him there, his eyes still wide. Dany momentarily cursed herself as she walked to her fourth period class. The class that they all shared together. 

___

The entire fourth period, Jon zoned out, ignoring whatever it was Mr. Mormont was trying to teach him, and instead, focus on his great big fuck-up.  _ Why am I so fucking stupid? Why I am such a fucking idiot?  _ He should’ve been more careful. Or better yet, he should’ve not done it at all. Now all the progress he had built with Dany crumbled, as if it was some card stack he’d been trying to build that was suddenly destroyed by a small gust of wind. 

_ How the fuck do I fix this?  _

All throughout the class, it was what he thought about, even when Mr. Mormont came over to him and told him to get started on his work. Anxiously, he began tapping his pencil against the desk, looking over to Dany. She chose to sit far away from him, choosing a table where there were no other chairs available for him to sit. So he had no choice but to sit with the three girls that were the root of the entire problem. 

_ Stop blaming other people Jon, this is your own fucking fault.  _

He had no idea how to fix his mistake and make it up to Dany. Throughout the multiple dates that they’d gone on, every new piece of information she shared with him only further secured the fact that she had trust issues. Which meant either two things; he’s back to square one with her, or there was no restarting at all with her. Maybe if he explained himself, she would understand. Other than her trust issues, he’d also learned she was a pretty understandable and reasonable person to deal with. Shouldn’t be too hard to convince her, right? 

He internally groaned to himself, completely and utterly frustrated and annoyed. How exactly was he supposed to make this up to her? They’d gone on 6 dates, and he was pretty sure she was starting to actually  _ like  _ him, then he’d gone and started flirting with some other girls. Maybe he’d ask her friend, what was her name, Missandei. Her friend seemed like she would know how to help him fix his mistake and make it up to her. But then again, as Jon remembered the look on both the girls faces as he turned and faced them, he doubted she would want to be much or any at all, help to him. 

“Mr. Stark, I will not ask again. Please get started on your work. There’s only 15 minutes left in class. If you don’t get it at least half of it done by the end of the period, I will hold you inside for lunch detention so you can finish it.” Mr. Mormont came back to him the second time, prompting Jon to roll his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get to it.”    


  
And he did. 

___

It was Saturday afternoon and Jon found himself sitting on the edge of his bed, staring off. He was still stumped as hell on what to do with the whole Dany situation. She’d completely ignored his existence at school. She even left him on read when he tried texting her  _ three times!  _ Yet still, she seemed to be pissed off with him. Falling backwards on the bed, he covered his eyes with his left arm and groaned outwardly. He was going to lose the damn bet to Theon. Remind him again why he cared so much? Oh, right, because he needed to prove himself even more to the damn guy. As if everything he’d done for him and that stupid three guy group of his wasn’t enough. As if he hadn’t shed almost every remnant of the guy he once was for them. Yet still, it wasn’t enough. It was never enough for Theon. 

He wished he had somebody to talk to. Somebody that actually understood his predicament. Who understood what he was really going through. Now, that wasn’t to say that he didn’t have friends. Jon Snow had a  _ ton  _ of friends. But none of them were true, or real friends. He was well aware of the fact that people only liked him because he was popular. Because he’s the hot captain of the football team. And who was he to not indulge on that?  _ Dany would understand.  _ Though it sounds a bit harsh, Jon was sure Dany would understand what it felt like to not have anybody to really talk to. But then again, maybe she wouldn’t. At least she had Missandei. Except for a few different classes from each other, he’d learned that the two were inseparable. They were always there for each other. They always listened to each other’s problems. Jon wished,  _ craved,  _ from the depth of the cold heart he’d frozen over that he had someone like that too. Someone to just sit there and listen. Maybe comfort him, but he always longed for that. He knew he had his siblings. He knew Arya or Robb would gladly listen to him rant and vent all day long. But that was because they were family, that’s what they were supposed to do. 

Sighing, he sat back up and stared at the ground again.  _ Beggars can’t be choosers.  _ If he couldn’t have what he’s always longed for, then he’ll have to settle with what he’s been given. And the first step to that was winning Dany over again. 

___

She absolutely refused to cry. Not for him, not for her, not for anybody. It was pointless. It was her own fault anyways. She was a complete fool to believe that they could actually have something. That he would actually like her. She was just unlovable like that. It was the only logical reason for why her life had turned out the way it had. What did she expect anyways? She was going on dates with the most popular guy in school. Did she really think that that would make people not notice him anymore? 

Dany sat at her desk, staring at her just-finished homework on a Sunday night. She’ll see him again tomorrow, whether she wanted to or not. Wasn’t it just the other day she had told herself they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, and that she didn’t care that he flirted with other girls? That he wasn’t bound to her? So why was she so hung up over seeing him with them like that? It made her angry, and confused, and conflicted, and embarrassed, and… and  _ hurt.  _ They would have to talk this out tomorrow, clear everything up. She’ll tell him that she had a good time on all those dates with him, and that she hopes he’ll be happy with other girls. And then they’ll go on with their lives. If there was one positive to any of this, it was that they, or he, had put a stop to it before things could get really serious, and Dany would be even more hurt than she already is. 

After, she would swear off any other guy for the rest of her life.  _ Okay,  _ maybe that was a bit overdramatic. But she would swear off dating or even trying to get to know a guy like that until she was well into her late 20s  _ at the very least.  _ Boys were just too much for her to handle, and with the way they usually ended at the age and stage she was at right now, they were also a waste of time. Besides, they wouldn’t be of any help to her school career and education. They were just a distraction. 

___

It was about 6:30 pm on Monday evening, and Jon finally found a solution to his ‘Dany problem’, he’d taken to calling it. He wasn’t sure it would work, but fingers crossed it would. A part of himself tried to talk him out of it, saying that she already hated him and would never give him another chance. But another part of him said that he had to try, even for just one last time. And so that’s what he planned on doing. 

But first, he had to run to some flower boutique shop. 

After finishing his dinner and  _ trying  _ to be good to his parents for the day by doing chores and helping his siblings and all that, he told them he was going to meet up with some friends for a bit, and that he should be back before 9 pm at the latest. 

He took his motorcycle to the nearest flower shop, which was about a 10 minute drive from his house and parked, looking at the shop and seeing if it was still open. The name of it was Sand Snakes’ Floral. He walked inside, the little bell ringing when the door opened, alerting the people inside of his presence. Inside, the shop was quite quaint and cozy, the aroma of the different types of flowers hitting him. 

“Welcome to Sand Snake’s Floral! How may we help you?” The voice of a young woman asked him. Jon raised an eyebrow at her upon hearing her sultry voice and seeing the way her body changed position as she set eyes on him. He casually smirked, satisfied at the reaction that he was used to getting from the female population. He was just about to indulge on the opening chance to flirt with the girl when he suddenly remembered why he was in the shop in the first place. Shaking his head, he told her. 

“Yeah. I’m looking for maybe a dozen blue winter roses in a bouquet please?” 

The young girl nodded, standing up straight. “We might have some.” With that, she sauntered off to the side, looking for said flowers. Jon took that time to look around and see what other flowers they offered. They had the typical red roses, lilacs, and lavenders, but there were others that stood out as well. Some were the moonbloom, dragon’s breath, blood-bloom, and the gillyflower. They were all pretty looking, but Jon chose the winter roses for a specific reason that he hoped would get Dany to understand. 

From his peripheral, he could see the girl walk back to the register, which he took as his cue that she found what he was looking for. He stood corrected as she began wrapping the bouquet with a ribbon. 

“Here you go, that’ll be $12.60 please.”    


  
Jon whipped his wallet out, giving the girl his credit card which was an extension of his parents’. Not that they really monitored where his money went towards. She handed him his card back after swiping it in. 

“You seeing someone?”    


  
He looked up, watching the girl’s expression. Was she trying to ask if he was single? 

  
“I meant, I’m assuming you’re seeing someone if you went out of the way to buy them a dozen winter roses.”    


  
He nodded, getting what she was saying. “I mean, kind of? It’s complicated right now, but I’m hoping these flowers would work for her, even if just a little bit.” 

“Well for the sake of it, I hope they do. I also hope she realizes how lucky she is.” 

Jon nodded, taking the flowers in his hand and walking back outside to his bike and took extra precaution to make sure the drive over to Dany’s apartment won’t cause any harm to it. 

___

Dany and her uncle were in the kitchen watching from the small tv that sat on the kitchen counter when a knock sounded through the front door. 

“I can get that dear.” Her uncle told her, already trying to maneuver his wheelchair towards the door. She watched, half amused and half concerned. 

“Uncle, I can get it-”    


  
“Nonsense. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything in this apartment of mine. Let me have the pleasure of greeting our guest.” Dany chuckled to herself but tried to stay close by. She didn’t know how her uncle planned on greeting whoever the guest was, considering he was blind and couldn’t even see what he was watching on the tv. She smiled at the small innocence her old uncle gave however. From the kitchen, Dany could hear her uncle struggle to open the door. Sighing with a small laugh, Dany went over and helped him unlock it, but stood behind the door, so that her uncle may have the spotlight he wanted. 

“How may I help you?” 

There wasn’t a response to her uncle’s question, and for a moment Dany thought it was one of those annoying doorbell ditchers. But the knocker replied, after a few seconds. 

“Uh- yeah, uh. I’m looking for Daenerys?” He sounded incredibly confused, which, in other circumstances, she would have found endearing. Except in this situation, it wasn’t. Dany’s eyes narrowed before widening.  _ Was that Jon? What was he doing here?!  _ Gods, if he came all this way to try and apologize to her she was going to- 

“Dany, someone wants to see you.” Uncle Aemon’s voice croaked as he called for her. She suppressed a smile at the fact that he didn’t notice she was standing right next to him behind the door. Taking a deep breath, she walked around it, making herself known. 

“Dany.” She refused to acknowledge the feeling she felt when his eyes brightened up as he saw her. 

“Do-do you know who this is Dany?” Her uncle tapped her back softly. She turned around to face him, momentarily forgetting about Jon. 

“Yeah uncle. It’s just a…”  _ A friend?  _ Dany glanced behind her to Jon, who shifted uncomfortably. “It’s just a friend. You can go back to the kitchen. I’ll meet you there.” Her uncle nodded, taking the wheels of his wheelchair and turned it around, slowly making his way to the kitchen while humming a soft tune to himself, sounding like a jolly old man. Dany smiled as she watched him return, before remembering who was standing at the door behind her. 

“Jon? What are you doing here?” She shook her head as she asked him. He had an arm behind him, which he pulled to the front, revealing a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He held it out, meaning for her to take them. Dany looked back and forth between him and the object in his hand, before hesitantly reaching out to take it, her fingers cautiously wrapping around the stems of it. He pulled his hand back, but not before brushing his fingers softly against hers. She didn’t know whether he meant to do that or not. “What do you want?” She asked him again, unintentionally sounding cold. He noticed her tone and flinched slightly, and he shoved his hands into his leather jacket’s pockets. 

“I wanted to give you the flowers. They’re, uh, blue winter roses. I thought you might like them.”    


  
She looked at the flowers that were in her hands again. They  _ were _ really pretty. And the smell they produced, it was a subtle frosty one. It reminded her of Winterfell park, for some odd reason. But then she looked back up at him again, squinting. She gave him a look that said ‘I-know-that’s-not-why-you’re-here’. He took the hint, looking down at the floor, almost nervously. Why was he nervous?    


  
“That’s not all I came here for. I wanted to apologize to you, and-wait before you say anything-just let me explain my side of the story okay? I just wanna talk.” She stared at him for a few moments, then turned behind her to quietly close the door behind her. It was just her and Jon in the hallway now. “First of all, I just wanted to say, I’m really sorry. For everything. I know we’ve been going on our dates for sometime now, and seeing me just flirting with other girls wasn’t right. I shouldn’t have done it, and I really,  _ really  _ hope you understand how much I regret it. I was an idiot. I am still an idiot, but it was incredibly stupid and inconsiderate of me. I’m sorry.” 

For a minute, there was complete silence. The silence and comfort hung thickly and heavy in the air around and between them as Dany thought his apology over in her head. 

_ He broke your trust, Daenerys, he doesn’t deserve another chance! Turn around and go back inside and leave him! He’ll only have another chance to hurt you again. Use your head! _

_ He’s truly sorry for what he did, Dany. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you went on dates with him. Give him another chance to prove himself. Listen to your heart!  _

Looking back at him, every little detail on his face and in his eyes showed that he was truly sorry, and she couldn’t help but feel a little bit of guilt at seeing it.  _ A little bit.  _

“And what happens if I forgive you?” She wanted to know. She ignored the way his adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. 

“Hopefully things can go back to the way they were? I’m not saying we’ll just forget that any of this ever happened. I can learn from my mistakes, and I know I won’t make them again. I.. I really liked going on all those dates with you Dany, and I know I would definitely not mind going on more, if that’s what you want.” 

“And what happens if I don’t forgive you?” 

He swallowed again, and cleared his throat, clearly disliking the way her voice sounded firm on the question. “Then you keep the flowers, and I’ll leave. Maybe I’ll contact you on the next session for the lessons, and we’ll keep it at that. We can stay as friends, or go back to not talking to each other at all, like it was before. It’s all up to you.” 

She had two options, either don’t forgive him, and stop talking to him, and watch as other girls continue to make their moves on him, or forgive him, and potentially grow something more between the two of them. Now, Dany was  _ far  _ from an expert on love, but she knew the former option might just be the cause of her death. Not literally of course. 

“If I forgive you, and we go back to how it was before… before  _ that, _ will you promise me something?”    
  
She bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling at the  _ so not adorable  _ way his head moved as he nodded quickly. 

“Promise me you won’t flirt with any other girl. Promise me you won’t even try to indulge yourself on that. I need to know I can trust you. I can’t- I can’t-”  _ I can’t have you do to me what Drogo did.  _ “I can’t handle that. If I can’t trust you, then I can’t do this.” 

Figuratively, she placed her foot down, firm and resolute on what she just asked of him. It was only fair right? She wasn’t restricting him from being able to talk with other girls, but she couldn’t handle it if he started flirting with them, even if it wasn’t serious. His expression softened at her request, and he took a small step forward. 

“I promise. I promise you, that if we can go back to the way things were before I fucked up and we move forward after that, I promise you, you will be the only girl that I can see. All the other ones? They won’t matter. They won’t matter the way you matter to me if we move forward. I promise you that.”    
  
Dany could feel her heart beginning to pick up some speed at his vow. Did he realize the intensity of his promises to her? Dany always tried to ignore things that would make her raise her hopes, only for them to be crushed. But this time, every part of her began hoping. And she didn’t know whether she hated it or relished it. 

Gulping down the lump that was forming in her throat, she started nodding her head and bit her lip, and unconscious act of hers. 

“Am I forgiven?” 

_ Gods,  _ he had just had to use his northern accent on her didn’t he? Wasn’t his words enough? She certainly didn’t need to pass out right in front of him. But she answered him with a tentative slow nod. She forgave him. Because she knew that it was partly her fault for getting so upset, when she should’ve known. 

“Good. I don’t want things to go back to the way they were.” 

_ Did she hear him correctly?  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Did he just- _

Dany narrowed her eyes at him and gave him the dirtiest look she could muster. Her quickening heart reduced her to breathing heavily, but in anger. How dare he raise her hopes like that? How dare he come here, give her flowers, ask for her forgiveness, ask for them to go back to normal, and take it all back? How dare this fu-

“I want to ask you to move forward with me.”

And suddenly, her breath left her again, and her heart beat faster. Move forward? What the hell was that supposed to mean? How did he sound so calm and collected while she was hearing, her emotions all over the place, her head so confused? 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to ask Jon.” She was asking him to please clear things up. To help her understand what it was that was going on. 

She saw as he bit back a small smile. “Aye, I’ll backtrack. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t want to just be going on dates anymore. I don’t want there to be uncertainty on what we are. And there’s only one way I can think of to eliminate any of those doubts.” 

She really needed some water. Her mouth was about as dry as the Red Waste in Essos right now. Was he trying to say what she thinks he’s trying to say? Dany was sure that if she were to see herself from Jon’s view, she’d look like an idiot. She couldn’t feel anymore if her eyes were popping out of her skull or not, and if her mouth was hanging open like a fly catcher. All she could focus on was the words coming out of his mouth. 

“What are-what are you… I don’t-” 

Or maybe she wasn’t even focused on his words, but rather the incessant beating of the drum inside her chest. The man in front of her smiled at her mumbling and stuttering.  _ Did he find it cute and endearing or annoying?  _ Taking a deep breath, Dany tried to compose herself so that she could actually form proper sentences and words. 

“What are you trying to say?”    
  


Something passed in his eyes, causing his greyish-brown eyes to be colored with black. He took another step forward, and it was all Dany could do to not take a similar step back. She looked down at his hand, which he held out, in an effort to take hold of hers. She lifted her right hand away from the winter roses in her hands, and gave him said hand. He held it in his left hand, gently squeezing it in a way that was comforting. As he spoke, she almost wanted to close her eyes and just enjoy the low and deep sound of it. But the words made her want to do the opposite. 

“Will you be my girlfriend?” 

_ Girlfriend.  _

_ ‘My girlfriend.’ _

_ His girlfriend.  _

_ Jon Snow Stark’s official girlfriend!  _

_ Stop shaking Dany, goddamnit!  _

She was absolutely positive that he could feel her hands shaking, seeing as he was currently holding one of them in his. But who could blame her? Jon Snow had just asked her to be his girlfriend! How was she supposed to react? It was like Missy could predict the future or something. 

It was on the tip of her tongue to say  _ yes.  _ Accept his ‘proposal’, and not have to think about the cons. But there was always that side of her that had to analyze the situation. The side that needed to assess which outcome would be more of benefit to herself. But hadn’t she already thought of this earlier? If she were to become Jon’s girlfriend, his  _ official girlfriend,  _ then there would be no questions as to what they are. He would be hers, and she would be his. Off limits to anyone (even if no one even noticed her). He had promised didn’t he? He promised her that he would basically be nothing like Drogo. They could be each other’s. At the thought of that, Dany nearly shuddered. The thought of having Jon  _ all to herself.  _ It almost surprised her how bold it made her sound. 

She didn’t even need to think about the other option. She didn’t need to put such images in her mind at letting him slip through her fingers and leave. It wasn’t what this called for. Dany already knew the answer. But of course, she couldn’t audibly speak, so she opted for nodding instead. 

“Yeah” Her voice cracked and she cleared it. “Yeah.” It was all she said, but it was enough of an answer for Jon. 

His smile grew, and he nodded along with her, questioning. “Yeah?”    


  
“Yeah.”    


  
He let out a small breath, as if he’d been holding it the entire time they were talking, the grin never leaving his face. “You’re serious? You’ll be my girlfriend?” Dany only kept nodding at his questions. 

“Only if you’ll be my boyfriend.” Her laugh sounded watery as she teased. 

“Of course… Can I, uh,  _ may  _ I hug you?”    


  
Her heart, for some strange reason, swelled when he asked her. It showed that he respected her, and was also willing to take things at her pace, just as he’d told her on their first date. Dany nodded. “You don’t have to ask.”    


  
And he didn’t. As soon as she gave him her permission, he engulfed her in a warm embrace. She suddenly became aware of how his strong arms enveloped her, and how safe it made her feel. It might just be her new favorite thing. 

She didn’t care that she was supposed to be mad at him. She didn’t care that she shouldn’t be so trusting of someone who had suddenly come into her life and made her feel the way she has. She simply didn’t care. There was only one thing that was on her mind. 

Jon Snow was hers, just as she was now his. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, the fun is starting to begin (it's really just formed but whatever.) I hope you guys have the Merriest of Christmas and/or the Happiest of Holidays. If I don't get the next one in by New Year's Eve, I hope you have a great 2020 and start off the new decade right! <3


	9. Are you the one I've been looking for all of my life?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany begins to have an effect on Jon that may just turn his bad habits around. The two go on a date, where Dany shares more of her present situation and her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to start off by saying a huge, big THANK YOU in all the languages to those who have been reading my story and going along with it so far. I read all the comments on every chapter, and y'all are just the sweetest bunch, which is definitely a need in this fandom. In exchange for that, I gift you guys a chapter of fluff in hopes of (maybe? hopefully?) getting the big angst and 'reveal' into the back burners of your minds. I promise, promise, promise you that Dany will experience many happy moments before and eventually after that too. Please enjoy your chapter :)))

“You know, this is just a thought, but what if we went on a double date with our  _ boyfriends?”  _

Dany’s head snapped up from her computer at Missandei’s suggestion. She lifted an eyebrow in amusement, then shook her head, laughing softly. Grey had finally asked Missy to be his girlfriend several weeks before she and Jon had officially gotten together. Ever since she told Missy about her and Jon, her best friend would not stop talking about it. 

“You’re right. It  _ is  _ just a thought.” She said to her, returning back to typing her work up.

Missy feigned to be offended. “But it would be  _ so  _ cute! They’re both friends and so are we.  _ Can you believe it?  _ Our boyfriends are the top two players on the football team! I don’t know about you, but I would have never imagined this to happen. And I’m pretty sure we can’t be dating them and  _ not  _ have at least one double date.”    


  
Dany grinned to herself at hearing Missy ramble. “We don’t need a double date Missy. I’m sure we can date them and still enjoy going on dates  _ alone.”  _ She pointedly told her. Missy gave her a fake pout, which Dany laughed at. 

“Right, sorry. I forgot how much you and Jon enjoy your ‘ _ alone time.”  _ At the last words, missy dropped her voice an octave lower. Dany dropped her jaw and stared at her wide eyed. 

“ _ Missandei!”  _ Dany blushed a deep red, then reached over and playfully hit her arm as Missy squealed and laughed. 

“Okay, okay.” She raised her arms in a surrender. “I yield, geez. But still, you guys act like you’re always sneaking off to go make out somewhere.” 

Dany glared at her, however, unable to contain the blush that continued to stay on her face. “We do not!” She shot back. “We haven’t even had our first kiss yet!” 

“I don’t see why not. You’re ‘officially’ a couple since like, what, 2 weeks ago?”    


  
“You make it seem like it's been two months.”    


  
“Because that’s how long it’s been since you first started going out with the guy! I’m actually surprised he hasn’t made any other move on you yet. Considering Jon, you’d think he would’ve kissed you on the first date already.” 

Dany turned her eyes away from Missy, staring at the ground. “He isn’t actually like that, you know.” She added shyly. “We agreed to take things slow.” 

At that, she saw the way Missy’s eyes softened. “He agreed to go slow for you?”    


  
Dany nodded, then bit the inner part of her cheek to keep from smiling as Missy’s grin grew in a teasing way. “Marry him. Marry him right now!” Dany rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

“Don’t be silly Missy.” 

“Okay, maybe don’t marry him  _ quite yet.  _ But still, it’s really sweet of him to go slow for you. He really likes you Dany.” 

Dany scoffed, then tried to play it off as a playful one. “Yeah yeah, whatever. Can we just, finish this up?” She gestured to the computers in front of them as they typed their homework assignments up in Dany’s room. Missy rolled her eyes jokingly and did a mock-salute. 

“Yes boss.” 

.

_ Brrrriiing! Brrrriiing! Brrrriiing! _

Dany flinched as the sound of the first school bell rang through the halls, just as she slammed her locker shut. She had not managed to get much sleep the night before, which really should not have been all that different for her. Just another ordinary day. Missy had already parted ways with her to get to her first period, which was in the opposite direction of her first class of the day. 

_ “Boo!”  _

Dany physically, and quite literally, jumped as she was surprised from the back. She turned around to the pair of arms that held her from her upper arms, and only then did she relax herself when she saw who it was. 

“Jon! You scared me!” He merely chuckled. She swatted his chest, and rolled her eyes as he pretended to be hurt by her hit. 

“That was kinda the point.” He continued rubbing the spot where she had hit him.   


  
She rolled her eyes again. “Shouldn’t you be heading to class right now?”    


  
“Yeah. But I wanted to see you first. C’mon, I can walk you.” He nodded his head towards the direction of her classroom. But she took hold of his right upper arm, which stopped him in his tracks as he turned back to face her. 

“Shouldn’t you be going to class too? Mine isn’t very far, and besides, I’m pretty sure your first period is upstairs.” She even nodded to the stairways that he  _ should  _ be heading up towards. But he only shrugged instead. 

“It’s fine. I don’t care too much about being late. You on the other hand, are going to be just as late if we don’t start walking.” Jon made to walk again, but she stood her ground, crossing her arms and frowning at him. She cringed when she realized she must’ve looked like a little 7 year old girl who didn’t get what she wanted from the store at that moment. Her assumption was supported when Jon looked at her with an amused look, struggling not to laugh. He shook his laugh off and gently took her arm. “Stop being so damn cute and let’s go Dany.” 

His compliment had her dropping her arms and frown, and replacing it all with a blush that she tried to hide to the best of her abilities. Still, she pulled him back. 

“I’m not letting you walk me to class Jon. You need to prioritize your studies too. I can walk myself, okay? Thank you for the offer and for being sweet and all, but I’d rather you get to your class on time too.” She negotiated, or more like  _ commanded _ him in a softer tone. He looked at her strangely, not in a bad way, but in a way where it looked like he was trying to figure out her intentions. Finally, he relented, sighing deeply. 

“Alright, alright, I’ll go. I’ll see you in science later, yeah?” She nodded as he walked forward and enveloped her into a hug, which she reciprocated with one that was most definitely not nearly as good as his felt. He pulled away, smiling at her like an idiot (not a bad one!), and she pulled away as they said their rushed ‘goodbyes’ to one another. She speed walked, and barely made it through the door just as the tardy bell rang again, then let out a quick sigh before trying to scramble to her seat. 

  
  
  


Dany wasn’t exactly sure why, but an odd emotion surpassed her when she walked through the door of her fourth period class and saw Jon already ready in his seat, an empty chair next to her. It was almost like a… a  _ proud emotion?  _ Why? Because he was ready in class before she was? Dany found it silly to be proud over such a thing, she wasn’t his mother after all. But still, she felt it. 

Taking the seat next to his, she plopped her backpack down on the floor next to his, the empty space between their two chairs. She got his attention and he turned to her, a teasing smirk. 

“Sorry, this seat’s taken for my beautiful girlfriend.” The cheeky idiot winked at the end, and she’s sure she’s never rolled her eyes so hard in her life. She decided to mess with him as well, and play along with his little game. 

“Sorry, I can move if you want? I’m sure she won’t be too happy that I stole the seat next to you.”    


  
He turned fully towards and grinned. “No, I’m sure she wouldn’t. She’s a bit aggressive, you see. But just as lovely.”    


  
_ Gods he needs to stop! He has no idea what effect he has, does he?  _ Dany nodded, trying to look convinced. “I’m sure she is. It’s okay, I understand. I’m a bit too ugly to sit with the likes of you anyway.” She waited to see his reaction, and sure enough, his face dropped to a concerned one, and she smirked internally as she pretended to walk away and find a different seat. But she felt as he grabbed her left wrist, not aggressively, but firm enough to keep her from walking away as he pulled her back towards him. 

“I saved her a seat, but you can take my lap.” He whispered into her ear, causing Dany to gasp softly and pull away from him abruptly and sat in the chair next to him before she could get in trouble by the teacher. She was blushing furiously while he winked and chuckled at her. She slapped him on the thigh, though it really didn’t do anything to him. He leaned over and rubbed her back with his closest hand to her, the right one and whispered. “For the record, you’re absolutely  _ gorgeous.”  _

Of course he used his accent. He always used it when he wanted her to believe or understand what he was saying. At least he was aware of the effects  _ that  _ had on her. But maybe not to a full extent. He winked once again, then faced forward as Mr. Mormont began his lesson. His hand found its way to hers on her lap, and retracted her left one as he held onto it. 

His words may have seemed a bit brash, but with the way he was holding her hand, his thumb going back and forth on the back of it whilst his fingers splayed almost protectively over the web of her fingers, nearly erased it. Dany glanced down to their clasped hands on her lap before looking up again, determined not to get caught. Tentatively, she slightly squeezed her hand in his, not bothering to look at him or their hands in the process. 

She fought to keep a spreading warm smile off her face when she felt an equally stronger squeeze around hers back. 

___

“You can’t just say that kind of stuff in class Jon!”

“And why not?” 

“Because...because..” Jon laughed even harder as she struggled to come up with a valid reason. 

They had just finished their fourth period and were now heading off to lunch. Well, Dany’s locker first. Then lunch. Their conversation was full of mirth, laughter, and teasing as they walked through the hallways. Especially as she brought up their little exchange before class started. He was fully aware that Dany held no offence to the comment, but being the prude she was, it seemed like it. Though it wasn’t something he’d tease her about in all seriousness. 

They arrived to her locker, and he stood by it as she unloaded some of her stuff out of her backpack. Once she was finished, she pulled an apple out of the locker, then shut it closed. Curious, he lifted an eyebrow to her choice of snacking.

“Where’s your lunch?”    


  
“This  _ is  _ my lunch.” She nodded pointedly to the relatively small apple in her hand. Jon immediately frowned at that. 

“Your lunch is an apple? You’re kidding right?” 

She took a small bite out of the apple, chewing and swallowing it before answering him. “No. This is it. Please don’t lecture me like Missy.” 

_ Too late,  _ he thought. 

“You can’t just eat an apple for lunch Dany.” 

“And why not?” She took another bite out of it. 

“Because it’s not healthy? It’s not enough for an actual  _ lunch,  _ Dany.”    


  
She turned to look at him, an annoyed expression evident on her face. He didn’t back down, however, but stood his ground. 

“And why do you care so much, huh? This has literally been my lunch for weeks now Jon. And i’m still alive and healthy, so can’t really argue there can you?” As if to prove her point, she took another big bite of it. Only a few more and the fruit would be gone to its core. He sighed, fighting off a similar annoyed look so as to not scare her away. 

“Why do  _ I  _ care so much? Are you serious? You’re my girlfriend, of course I’m going to care so much. Why don’t you bring other food too?” 

She ignored him, and started walking instead, forcing him to walk a bit faster to catch up with her. 

“Dany, come on. I just don’t want to see you like this. It isn’t healthy.” 

“It’s nothing Jon. Seriously, let it go. I don’t want to talk about this right now.”    


  
Jon sighed again, briefly closing his eyes before opening them again. He had to assume it was one of those ‘taking it slow’ details that he had to keep up with. Why did he care so much anyways? He knew the answer to that right away.  _ Because I have to.  _ It wasn’t right to be so attached to someone you know you aren’t being genuine to in the first place, but it didn’t mean he was a  _ total, complete  _ heartless asshole. He certain;y did not feel like watching Dany slowly starve off because she ate apples to keep her up and running the whole day. 

“Fine then, we won’t talk about it right now.”    


  
“Thank you.” She gave him a smile, and the sight of it almost made him forget why he decided to drop the subject.  _ Almost.  _

They finally arrived to the cafeteria, where they were met with the usual bustle of noise due to the result of over a hundred students in one large space. 

“Can you sit with us at lunch today?” He glanced towards his usual table, but as soon as he caught sight of Theon, Edd, and Beric, he immediately winced and regretted his question. Luckily, Dany didn’t seem too enthusiastic about his offer. 

She eyed his table warily, then looked back up at him. “Uh, I promised Missy we could talk about some stuff at lunch today. Maybe another day?” 

“Yeah that works.”    


  
“I’m sorry.” She cringed at herself, causing him to shake his head. “I can make it up to you?” She half asked, half stated to him, which caught his attention. 

“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?” 

Dany’s eyes shifted to the ground, looking at her feet until she thought of an answer. “We could go on a date. To the park again. O-only if you want, that is.”    


  
He’ll have to ask her about that thing she always seems to do. Go from open and free with him, to suddenly closing off like a turtle hiding in its shell, or a mouse scurrying off to hide in its burrow, or whatever those things hid and lived in. Instead, he smiled at her suggestion, pulling her closer to him. “We can definitely go on a date to the park again.”    


  
She gave him a bright grin, one that signalled to him that she was out of her shell once more.  _ I’m getting better at this guessing game,  _ he secretly thought smugly. “Does Saturday work for you? Maybe, around lunchtime? I know you guys have an away game on Sunday, so you shouldn’t be too busy then right? I can pick you up with my car if you want, but I don’t know about the food.” 

He watched her as she adorably rambled on and on about the details of the date, her concerns flying past him. “I can handle all of that Dany. It’s enough that you made it up to me by suggesting the park again. I’ll handle transportation and food.” 

She frowned. “I want to put in some effort too. I feel bad that you’re doing it all and all I have to do is wait for you to pick me up.”    


  
He chuckled, but controlled it.  _ If it’s what she really wants.  _ “Fine, we’ll compromise. I can drive my bike to your complex, then we can switch off and take your care. But I’ll still handle the food and having to pick you up part. We’re just using your car. Deal?”    


  
She seemed pleased at his compromise, and nodded to show it. “And I’m driving?” She looked at him expectedly. 

Jon let out a hearty laugh before coughing and trying to cover it up. He leaned in close to whisper into her ear. “Not a chance. I’m driving princess.” And with that, he wrapped an arm around her for a quick hug and walked to his table, not allowing her any room to argue back with him. He turned around and walked backwards to see her reaction, smiling and winking when he saw that her jaw hung open. 

“I see you’re getting closer to her.”    


  
Because he was walking backwards, he hadn’t been watching who was behind him, and so he was surprised to hear Edd’s voice behind him. Quickly, Jon spun around and looked at him. 

“What’re you talkin’ about?” 

He nodded back to Dany, who had found her way to Missy on the other side of the cafeteria. “Looks like you’re getting somewhere with her at least, eh Jon?” Edd winked at him and clapped his back, even if Jon stood there watching him blank faced, not amused at all. 

“Farther than you could with a girl Edd.” 

“We’ll see about that. At least I don’t lose money when I date them.”    


  
“That’s not how the thing went!” The ‘thing’ being the bet between him and Theon. 

“Right. Well, regardless, same thing, same result. I’m just saying y’all looked like you got somethin’ real with the way you were talkin’ to her. And in the halls. I walked past you two before I got here. And you forget that my class is only a couple doors next to hers for first period.” 

Jon recalled the sudden memory of him and Dany’s interactions during the passing periods today. He cringed and immediately tried brushing it off. “That’s just part of it. How am I supposed to win this thing if she doesn’t even believe me about things in the first place?”

Edd shrugged, and took a sip out of his chocolate milk carton that came from the school, before making a face and chucking it into the nearest trash can. “You realize the whole school’s gonna be talking about you and her now? Her especially. Everyone’s gonna wanna know who it is the famous Jon Snow decided to tie down this time. After that. You’ll have to be even more careful. She don’t look like the type to handle our fame very well.” Jon glared at Edd, who rolled his eyes. “ _ Your  _ fame, sorry.” He sarcastically corrected himself. 

Jon narrowed his eyes at his friend, but only once he thought through what he had just told him, he understood. Oh  _ shit. Shit, shit, shit.  _ He hadn’t thought of that. Why hadn’t he thought of that in the first place?! It’d completely skipped his mind when he asked her. Jon physically face palmed and groaned into his hands.  _ Gods,  _ that made things even harder now. Still, Jon was never one to back down from a challenge. 

“It’s fine. I’ll think of something.” 

Edd looked at him, and Jon glared at him back, daring him to say something. Silently, he raised his hands in mock defeat, turning to his other side to join a conversation, leaving Jon alone to deal with his thoughts and problems. 

___

Throughout their multiple dates that they’d gone on together, Dany had realized that Jon was willing to call her ‘beautiful’ no matter what she wore on their dates. Whether she was in a flowy dress or her regular jeans, he’d always greet her the same. And she didn’t know whether she hated the attention or loved it. 

Here she was, getting ready for their date in a pair of light blue jeans and a casual white t-shirt. She had decided to wear her hair down today, leaving it loose and free. Her entire outfit seemed to scream ‘casual’. Walking out of her bedroom, she went into the kitchen, where Cedric and her uncle were getting ready to eat their own lunches. She walked over and gave her uncle a kiss on the cheek. 

“You gonna be okay here, uncle?”    


  
“Oh, I’ll be fine here sweetling. You-you enjoy yourself alright?” Dany smiled at him. 

“Of course. You enjoy yourself here too with Cedric.”    


  
“Oho, we’ll think of something to occupy your time. Have fun Daenerys.” Cedric called out to her as he took his seat that was diagonal from her uncle’s on the dining table. “Where is it you’re going again?”    


  
Dany blushed. “A date.” She grinned at his teasing. Her uncle, however, seemed to catch onto it too. 

“A-a date? You’re meeting with a boy?” Through his well aged voice, Dany could hear the concern. She sighed, not being able to fault him for that. He had every right to be concerned, given her previous boy choices. 

“Yes, uncle. I am. He’ll be here soon. You’ll meet him soon, I promise. Just not right now.” It was too early on in their relationship for Jon to meet her only living family member. “He was here a few weeks ago, when you wanted to answer the door, remember?”    


  
She looked at him as he thought about it, and a delighted expression came through his face as he managed to remember. “Oh! Oh yes, I remember! He sounded like a good young man. You talked a good long time with him outside, I remember that too. He seemed like a good young man, I can feel it. But I’d still like to meet him personally.”    


  
“And you will soon uncle.” Right then, a knock sounded through the front door.    


  
“I can get that for you Daenerys.”    


  
Dany nodded and gave a rushed ‘thanks’ before walking quickly to her room to get her small backpack that kept her important belongings. From her room, she could hear Jon’s low, growl-like accent.

_ “Who the hell are you?”  _

Dany blinked, surprised at his outburst. She managed to hear Cedric straining, struggling to find a way to answer and explain himself. 

  
“I-I work here. I-I’m Cedric.”    


  
Dany was almost sure he even stuck his hand out to introduce himself to Jon, who no doubt would only stare at the hand. She stayed hidden for a few moments longer, slightly intrigued to see how this interaction would play out. 

“I don’t give a shit. Who the hell are you? Where’s Dany?”    
  


“D-Dany? Oh, Daenerys, she’s in her room, uh-”    


  
At that moment, she stepped out to reveal herself. Dany bit back a growing grin on her face to keep from laughing at Cedric’s terrified face. Despite being older than Jon, Cedric was clearly terrified of Jon, being as Jon was more built than his scrawny, all bones figure. She walked towards the two, taking her place next to Jon, who immediately placed his arm over her shoulder and frowned at Cedric. 

“Will you calm down?” She half whispered half yelled at him. “I’m so sorry about this Cedric. Uh, this is Jon, my boyfriend. Jon, this is Cedric, my  _ uncle’s caretaker. _ ” She said the last two words through clenched teeth, eyes widening at him as if to tell him off. He squinted for a moment, then his eyes widened in realization.    


  
“Oh.  _ Oh,  _ I- uh, I’m so sorry about that.” He grimaced at his mistake, causing her to roll her eyes. 

“I’m sorry about that. I’ll get him away from you now. Call me if you need anything.” And with that Dany half dragged Jon down the hallway and away from her apartment. Only once they got in the elevator did she allow herself to reprimand him. 

“Are you serious?! What were you thinking?”    


  
Jon winced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, okay? I just- I didn’t know who that guy was at  _ your  _ apartment, so forgive me for jumping to conclusions.” 

Dany opened her mouth to say something, but she understood what he was talking about. Jon had never met Cedric before, and she never thought to mention him. In his eyes, Cedric was just a young man who was in his girlfriend’s apartment. Dany wouldn’t know what she’d do if the situation were to be reversed. 

Sighing, she continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him. I realize what it might’ve seemed like to you, but you still shouldn't have acted so rashly.”    


  
“Fine, fine. I’ll be more.. careful next time. I’m sorry.” He mumbled out his apology and turned to wrap his other arm around her in an embrace, minding the basket of food he had for them in his hand, only pulling away once they got to the lobby. She led him to her car, which was parked pretty close to the building. 

“A BMW?” He asked her, quirking a brow up. 

“It’s no lambo, but it gets me where I need to be.” She shrugged, trying her best not to shrink away and jump to conclusions that he was judging her and her car. It certainly looked pretty old to her, she couldn’t imagine what it looked like to someone with as much money as he does. 

“I’m not judging you. I hope you know that. I won’t ever judge you.” She gave him a small appreciative smile at his words. He held his hand out in front of her, and she looked down, realizing he was asking for her keys. Quickly, she dug into her backpack and fished them out from the bottom, plopping them in his hands.    


  
“After you, Your Majesty.” He did a mock bow as he held out the passenger seat’s door for her. She rolled her eyes and softly smacked him in the head for that. He rubbed at his head and pouted at her, which caused her to pout back. He closed the door and ran over to the driver’s seat and carefully set the basket down in the backseat behind them, then started the ignition, driving off to their location. 

.

The beauty of Winterfell park never seemed to stop amazing her. As they arrived to their destination, a happy smile came about her face as she saw their tree in a small distance. Dany wonders how it is that she’s lived up North for such a long time and she’s never seen this park. She’s sure it’s twice as gorgeous when there’s snow covering it. The thought of seeing that kind of magic excites her, and she has to bite her lip to keep from jumping up and down her seat. 

“What’s got you so excited?” She’s so lost in her thoughts she doesn’t notice Jon’s already left the car with the basket in hand, and he’s waiting next to her door with it open already. Quickly, she takes a step out, not forgetting about her bag that she’s brought along. 

“I was just thinking about how even more beautiful this place would be when it starts snowing.” When she looks up, he grins at her. 

“Oh man, it’s so pretty at that time of year. I can’t wait to show you. Maybe we can have a little stroll through the whole park with some hot chocolate in our hands.” He leans over and grins at her, and she can feel her eyes grow wide with excitement. “I could even show you the one we have at home.”    


  
They arrive to their specific tree and set their stuff down, and Dany looks at him with big eyes. “You have a whole park at your house?!”    


  
Jon chuckles, pulling the picnic blanket out and rolling it down onto the floor. “No, we aren’t  _ that  _ rich. Well- we own this park so… Not the point. Anyways, we have what we call the ‘Godswood’. It’s in our backyard. It’s not the biggest place in the whole world, but there’s a weirwood tree in the middle of it with a lake in front. It’s really pretty to look at, or just a really great place to think, no matter what season it is. It looks kinda like this park, except smaller, really. I’d love to show you it someday.”    


  
Dany could only imagine how much money his family had if they had an entire  _ Godswood  _ in his  _ backyard!  _ She’d love to be able to see this area someday, especially with the way he’d described it. “Wow. It must be really nice to have a quiet thinking place to go to.” Seeing as she did a lot of thinking herself. 

“Yeah it is. Especially when you have 6 other siblings. Even they know they can’t annoy me in there. It’s kinda gated off so it’s a little bit even more private. It’s a place for quiet thinking and prayers, so they’re terrified of what our parents would do to them if they ever broke the quiet rule.” 

Dany nodded, but chose to stay silent and say nothing else, and waited as he pulled out their food for them. 

“We have here a caesar salad and some pasta for the actual lunch, and I brought along a couple donuts and a few apple slices to go with it. And two water bottles of course.” He laid everything out in front of them, allowing Dany to fill the bowl that he brought with him, and the two began eating as soon as Jon had his filled. 

.

Once they finished their meals, they set it aside, opting for a bite here and there of their desserts. But Dany had something else in her mind. 

“I wanna tell you something.” She waited for him to finish drinking his water and set it down before continuing. She wasn’t sure why she was telling him these particular details, these  _ secrets  _ in her life, but she felt she had to. Not in a forced way, but in a way to return everything he’d told her about himself. “I just want to start by saying I’m sorry for lashing out at you like I did the other day, when you saw me eating just the apple for lunch. I get that you’re concerned, and I appreciate that, but in truth, it’s all I have.” 

He didn’t say anything, confused by what she meant. She sighed and continued, trying her best not to sound so quiet and embarrassed. 

“The apple, it’s-it’s all I can find myself to eat for lunch. I’m not rich like you, Jon. It’s just me and my uncle. He has enough money to be paying for our apartment and the bills, my car, and his caretaker. That’s pretty much it. I mean, not all of it. He gives me money whenever it’s time to go grocery shopping, but it’s barely just enough. Usually, it’s around when it’s time for me to buy more of his medicine. And that stuff’s expensive. So I buy him that. And enough food for our meals to keep us going until the next time. I don’t have enough money to spend to be buying myself whole meals to bring to school or to spend on some fast food. Which is why I only have an apple.” 

After her confession, she stayed silent, not daring to look into his eyes. She was afraid of what she might’ve found in them. Disgust, pity, amusement. But when nothing was spoken for nearly a whole minute, she chanced herself to look up. What she saw in him wasn’t anything of the likes that she’d assume she’d see, but rather understanding for her, and understanding for her situation. 

“I didn’t.. I didn’t know. Dany… why didn’t you just tell me this in the first place? I could’ve helped you with this, you know that-”    


  
She shook her head and cut him off. “No, Jon. I can’t let you do that. You can’t just fix my problems for me. I didn’t tell you because.. Because I was embarrassed.”    


  
“Dany…” 

“I was embarrassed because I thought you would suddenly change your mind about me and about us!” She burst out, frustrated for no apparent reason. “I mean, here I am, admitting my broke status to the guy whose family owns this damn park we’re sitting in right now! I don’t know… I guess I was just scared of your reaction, that’s all.” Her voice grew softer at the end of her outburst, suddenly feeling very guilty and exposed. It wasn’t like Jon would let her though. He gently took her by the arm and pulled her to him, tucking her under his arm that had been holding her. 

“I’m sorry.”    


  
“For what? Nothing’s your fault.” He shook his head at that. 

“I’m sorry that you felt scared and embarrassed to tell me of your personal issues. It’s never my intention to make you feel like that, Dany. I want you to trust me-”    


  
“I do trust you.”    


  
“ _ Really  _ trust me. And that means not having to be scared to tell me that you don’t have enough money to get lunch. That’s not how I want our relationship to be like. We have to be able to trust each other. Now I’m not asking you to tell me about every single detail in your life. I just want you to be comfortable with me.” 

Dany lifted her head up to meet his eyes with hers, searching for something in them. Searching for any sign of a lie. But he wasn’t. His eyes shone with complete truth to his words, and it’s almost enough to make her cry at the sincerity of them. She brought her head back down to nuzzle closer to him before he could see the glisten of tears in her eyes. 

“Okay. I promise I’ll try to be more honest with you next time.” 

He moves to wrap his other arm around her as well. “That’s all I would want.” Dany feels him flinch above her, though it was a subtle movement. 

“What?”    


  
“N-nothing.” He looked uncomfortable as he shifted in his seated position.    


  
“You flinched.” 

“I thought I felt something in my eye.” But as Dany studied his expression, it almost looked like he was guilty.  _ Guilty of what?  _ She didn’t pry though, suddenly remembering what else she wanted to open up to him about. 

“There’s something else I want to tell you.”    


  
“Oh?”    


  
“It’s about my ex. Drogo?”    


  
“Oh.” She knew he remembered about him. Dany nodded, confirming and agreeing with his reaction. “What about him?”    


  
“I just wanted to tell you about him. I thought, maybe it would explain why I’m so much like I am. He’s not the complete reason, but he’s a big reason as to why.”   
  


He waited for her to continue as she took a deep breath to calm herself.   


  
“Drogo was… he was abusive. And manipulative and controlling. But he wasn’t like that when I first started dating him. He was sweet and kind and attentive, and at the age I was, I kinda just fell for it I guess. But I should’ve known. I should’ve seen the signs. He suddenly got more possessive of me. Whenever he saw me with a guy, he’d grow extremely jealous. At first, I thought it was endearing. But it only got worse and worse. And then I figured he was illegally drinking and doing drugs. Whenever he kissed me, I could smell the horrible stench of it all. I wanted to end it right there. But we wouldn’t let me. He said that if I left or reported him, he’d hurt me and my uncle. So I had to stay with him. And then he started getting clingy, and he wouldn’t let me go places if he wasn’t there. If I wanted to talk to Missy, he had to be there or I wasn’t talking to her at all. Even when I tried to get up and throw something away, he’d always grab me and ask where I was going. He slapped me once, but then he said he felt really guilty. He promised he wouldn’t hurt me again, and I believed him. I was stupid to believe him.” She scoffed, but didn’t look at Jon quite yet, as she was unfinished with what she had to say. 

“One day, his parents left for this conference in the East or something, so he was home alone for a week. I wanted to talk to him about our relationship, even if that was a stupid idea now that I think about it. He wasn’t answering any of my texts or calls, so I got really worried. When I got to his house, the door was left unlocked and I was scared. But I had no reason to be. Once I got inside, I could hear him. He- he had a girl with him upstairs. I-,” She stopped for a moment, trying to control her breathing and not break down and cry in front of Jon. She could feel him pull her closer to his body in the half embrace, and she was thankful. When she managed to get a grip on herself, she continued.

“I found him cheating on me, and I blamed him. I tried to leave, but he grabbed me. I guess he was trying to do to me what he was doing to  _ her.  _ The girl. She-she managed to hit him, but she had to leave. And it was just me and him.  _ I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared in my entire life as I was than that moment.”  _ Dany’s voice broke and shook, and Jon held her tightly. She was sure he was angry, she could almost sense it. But he didn’t say anything. “He didn’t get a chance to-to… I hit him, then I ran. I never saw him again after that. I don’t know what I’d do if I did.” 

Once she finished, she allowed herself only one tear to fall on her cheek as Jon held her. The story, no matter how long ago it had been, always shook her. It always scared her, the  _ what- ifs.  _ She knew it could’ve been worse. Drogo could have actually raped her. But the fear she felt back then. She could cry over it all like it had just happened. Dany finally looked up at Jon, seeing what he has to say. Except, he didn’t say anything. But the look in his eyes said enough. He wasn’t looking at her, but off to the farther distance. There was a mix of cold anger and remorse in his eyes. When he looked back down at her, it quickly changed to one of sadness, but the hint of anger still there. 

“I’m so sorry Dany.” She shook her head, wanting to tell him to stop apologizing for every wrong thing that’s happened in her life.  _ This isn’t even the worse one…  _ “Is this… Is this why you seemed so scared when I first asked you out?” Dany nodded, feeling guilty when he shut his eyes closed. 

“I wouldn’t do that you. Or anyone. Ever. Especially you.” His hands had found their way to her hair as they brushed through it. “But I understand why you’d feel so scared. It’s your right. I just want you to know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Dany nodded. Her heart suddenly felt full from the…  _ love?  _ No, it wasn’t love. Definitely not yet. The support, the understanding. That’s what filled her heart. So she smiles, hoping that it’s at least enough to let him know that  _ yes,  _ she understands he wouldn’t hurt her like that. She initiates the hug between them as well, never feeling quite as warm as she did in his arms. When they pull away, there’s mirth in her eyes. 

“You know, you’re not actually what you try so hard to show yourself to be.”    


  
He looks at her, confused for a moment. “Oh? And what do you mean by that?” 

“You look to make people think you’re so tough and cool, and that you’re bad, but you’re not.”    


  
Sensing the change in tone of their conversation, Jon faked dropped his jaw. “You don’t think I’m tough and cool?” 

Laughing, she restates herself. “I meant, you’re not what you try to make yourself to be. I don’t think you’re a bad person Jon. You try to make yourself seem so bad. You skip classes, you don’t do your homework. When you  _ are  _ in class, you don’t pay attention. You jump from one girl to another-”    


  
“Not anymore-”   


  
She cut him off with an eye roll and a look. She laughed when he grumbled out something that sounded like ‘ _ I’ve already found one girl to stick with.’  _ Dany ignores the way that comment warms her up. 

“The point is: you do all of that, but I can see the real you, no matter how much you try to cover it up. You’re really smart, you just don’t want to seem like a nerd or something. And you care about people. Which means you have a good, kind heart. You may not want to show it often, but I can see it. You’re a hard worker, you’re dedicated to what you set your mind to, and you’re a good person. You want to fix my problems for me. You’re willing to put all the work into our dates and insist I sit back and do nothing. You comfort me when I tell you my secrets. You’re not who you cut yourself out to be.”    
  
He’s staring at her like a puppy, what with his eyes wide and shining, and his head tilted slightly to the left as she speaks about him. His eyes flash down, but when they meet hers again, they’re full of happiness. One that spreads to his lips as they curl into a smile. And it’s one that’s so big, it spreads to her face as well. She doesn’t think she’s seen a sight as lovely as that. Jon Snow Stark, smiling at her like an idiot. It almost makes her want to kiss his smile.  _ Woah there Dany, slow down.  _ She’s shocked at the sudden intruding thought, but finds that it doesn’t go away from her mind. 

“I don’t-” He stops to clear his throat. “I don’t think anyone’s ever spoken about me like that in a  _ long time. Thank you, Dany.”  _ And he looks like he means it too. 

“That’s a shame. It’s all true.” 

He scrunches up his face, as if to disagree, but he laughs instead as she’s about to hit him before he can say anything. And then there’s nothing left to say, as the pair stare at each other, silently daring for the other one to say something to change the topic of their conversation. Except neither do, and they end up in a silent staring contest. 

Dany’s heart is beating wildly underneath the cage of bones it’s trapped in, as if it wants to jump out and into the hands of the one who was slowly taking it. She feels like she’s waiting for something,  _ anything,  _ to happen. But nothing does, and so she takes it upon herself to truly initiate something between them. 

Her eyes fall from his eyes to his lips, and she would’ve taken more time to study and appreciate them had she not just gone for it. She even surprises herself when the next thing she knows is that she’s pressed her lips to his, catching him off guard. He was clearly not prepared for her to do that, and so when it takes him longer than she would have liked to respond and kiss her back, she panics and pulls away. With eyes wide open and her heart still pounding to an intense rhythm, she begins to blather. 

“I-I’m so sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking. That-that wasn’t a good idea, I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry Jon I-”    


  
She’s cut off from talking any longer when his lips capture hers again. She takes it as a sign that he wasn’t opposed to her idea. Wasn’t he the one that said she shouldn’t be embarrassed with him? She’s certainly not anymore. Dany sighs into the kiss, and Jon takes that as his cue and lifts his hand to cup the side of her face, angling her to kiss her so deeply her toes start to tingle with delight. 

His lips feel amazing on hers, just as soft as they’d look. She’s sure hers are slightly chapped and she would take more time to be embarrassed about it if she weren’t so caught up in the feel of him. Anyone else in the park that was there suddenly ceased to exist, and to Dany, it’s just her and Jon, a thought that certainly doesn’t bother her one bit. 

He pulls away when their need for oxygen overpowers the both of them, and they’re left panting for air. Once they’ve caught their breath, he charms her with his signature smile that never fails to put one on her own face. He leans downwards to her and rests his forehead on hers, so close their noses are touching. 

“Gods, don’t apologize for doing something like that ever again.” 

Dany laughs airily, nodding against his head. “I just thought you didn’t like.”    


  
“Like it? I loved it. You just surprised me that’s all. I didn’t think you would do that. But I certainly enjoyed it.” 

Dany almost preened as she beamed at him. “Good. Because I did too.” 

And with that, she closed the short yet seemingly too far of a distance between them, sealing their lips together and not catching Jon off guard again. Her body turned to face his fully so to wrap her arms around his neck as his hands made their way to her lower back, the smiles evident on both their faces felt by the other. She hopes he realizes how much trust she’s put into him in order to do this, but as she thinks back to their earlier conversation, and how understanding he was of her past, she knows he understands. And Dany doesn’t think she’s ever felt as happy and content as she did in that moment. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may have probably been one of my more favorited chapters to write out of the ones I've written so far. I would have released this chapter sooner, but unfortunately, the stomach bug decided to pay me a visit the day after Christmas, so I was quite miserable looking at a screen for too long. Yours truly's nameday (yes, nameday) was yesterday (the 28th as I write this) so that also set me back a bit in posting. I'll see what I can do about another chapter before the new decade, but until then, enjoy yourselves!


	10. I can deal with the bad nights when I'm with my baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon treats Dany out for lunch, something she doesn't quite like. Dany goes to her first high school party and trouble ensues. When Dany reveals to Jon her whole past, he's pushed to a startling realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should say I have no idea how a motorcycle works, so please forgive me for any inaccuracy on that. This chapter has some fluff and happiness to it, but this is a huge chapter because of the angst, so prepare yourselves for that. There's a bunch of dialogue in the beginning and middle-ish, but towards the end, it gets pretty heavy. All I gotta say is this is a big chapter in terms of character interactions and development. 
> 
> (TW) Mentions of alcohol abuse, suicide, and (attempted) sexual assault

“You’re not even listening anymore are you?” Dany’s disappointed voice brought Jon back to her as he looked at her sheepishly. 

“No, no I was. Keep going.” 

  
Dany gave him ‘the look’ and sighed, shaking her head and closing the book in front of them. They were both in the library after Dany had insisted to Jon that she could help him study. Here they were in the after hours of school. After talking for a full two minutes, Dany noticed Jon had floated into the abyss of nowhere, zoning out on her. 

“No, really Dany, I was listening. We can keep going.” 

“Okay then. Name all of Maegor the Cruel’s wives.” Dany smiled mischievously as Jon’s face contorted into one of confusion. She was trying to help him study for his upcoming history test, which ironically was on the Targaryen dynasty many, many years ago. Who better to help him study than the descendant of the very family? 

“Uh- that’s an easy one, I know this. There’s, uh, Ceryse Hightower, Jeyne Westerling, Tyanna of the Tower, Alys Harroway, and Rhaena Targaryen.” Jon beamed, seemingly proud of himself that he remembered the names of the wives of the cruel Targaryen. 

Dany chuckled and grinned at him, not saying anything. _He’s forgetting one more._ “That’s not all of them. There’s six. You named five.” 

Jon shut his eyes and his head tilted back as he cursed himself and the ceiling above him. “I always forget this one. Who is it?” 

  
“Elinor Costayne.” 

“I wouldn’t have remembered that. I always forget about her. But I told you, I was listening to you.” 

  
“You looked like you were zoned out.” 

  
“That’s because your face is very distracting to me.”

  
  
“Oh, so it’s my fault now?” She leaned forward, inches away from his face as she smirked. 

“Yes. All your fault.” He didn’t give her any room to argue back as he pressed his lips to hers. But before he could get carried away with her, she pulled away, placing a finger on his lips to stop him. 

“All on you.” 

She leaned back, handing him his flashcards that they’d made together as she wrapped up the lesson, packing her stuff away. He began to do the same, throwing his items in his backpack, whereas she neatly placed them in the proper folders in the correct sections and set them in her bag. The contrast had Dany raising a brow at him, but not saying anything. 

“So uh, there’s this thing on Friday night that I was invited to, and I wanted to bring you as my plus one.” 

  
She looked up to see Jon staring at her, already done packing his things. “Oh? What sort of ‘thing’?” 

  
“A party.” He deadpanned to her, his voice slightly quieter than it would’ve been had he said anything else. Dany cocked her head and looked at him in a way. 

“Jon…” She started. 

“I know, I know; you don’t you like parties. But I thought this one might be a pretty enjoyable one for the both of us. It’s a Halloween party, but we don’t have to dress up if you don’t want to. If you really don’t like it though, I can always take you home anytime.” She knew he meant what he said in the last sentence, but the sad tone at the possible chance of missing the party creeped through his voice, and Dany couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty, knowing it would be her fault. 

“Who’s hosting it?” 

  
“Arianne Martell. You know her?” Dany snorted; of course she knew her. Well, more like aware of her. She was the new student that almost everyone doted over the first month and a half of school last year. Dany was also positive she was one of the girls who also had their eyes set on Jon. 

“I know who she is. Uh, what time is it?” 

  
“Starts at 7 pm.” 

“After your football game?” 

  
“A little bit after that. Our game should be over by 5:30.”

  
Dany pondered it. Parties were really not her thing, especially knowing for a fact there would be many people there drinking and dancing to extremely loud music. She’d much rather stay at home than attend it. But one the other hand, she’d feel really guilty at not being there with Jon. This could very well be her first real chance at improving herself, and finally shedding off her shy and isolated shell. Besides, if she ended up not liking it, she always had the option to leave, right? 

“Okay. Maybe. Can I think about this more later?” She asked him, ‘later’ referring to when she would be alone in her room, without the pressure of having to give an immediate answer. 

He nodded his head feverently. “Yeah, of course.” 

He took her hand and they walked to the school’s parking lot together, and he even went as far as walking her to her car and opening the door for her once she unlocked it. 

Dany smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you.” 

  
“No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow ‘kay?” 

  
Dany bit her lower lip and nodded. She leaned upwards to kiss him, meeting him in the middle. She couldn’t help but smile shyly once they parted. It also made her feel giddy and bubbly inside whenever they kissed, despite having their first one over a week ago. 

“Don’t feel like I’m pressurin’ you to go or anything. I’m not. I don’t want you to go because you feel bad for me or somethin’.” 

“I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know tomorrow morning.” 

“Oh, speaking of; I’ll pick you up from your place tomorrow morning. Don’t bother driving.” 

Dany looked at him for a moment. “Why? What do you have planned?” She knew he had to have something planned, else he probably wouldn’t bother. 

“Just a little something. But I’ll pick you up.” 

“Fine. But _try_ to be one time. Please?” She asked him, even fluttering her eyelashes and fake pouting at him. She knew he had a penchant for being late to school a lot of the time, but it wasn’t like she shared the same interest. 

Jon huffed, but smirked at her. “Okay okay. Anythin’ for my future-valedictorian.” He teased her, knowing it always made her roll her eyes whenever he mentioned. When she told him of her aspirations, goals, and plans for the rest of her high school and college career, he took it upon himself to tease her a reminder of it. It wasn’t like he actually teased her about it though. Jon was in full support of her goals and plans, even going as far as trying to help her succeed with her work from time to time. It always made her feel fluttery inside knowing how supportive and encouraging he was. 

With a few last words of exchange and a quick peck on the lips, he departed from her, walking to his own mode of transportation as Dany exited the parking lot. Feeling particularly in a good mood, she turned the radio on and twisted the volume knob so that it was two or three bars higher. She hummed along to whatever songs were playing as she drove, the smile on her face never really disappearing completely. 

___

It was Tuesday morning, and Jon was standing outside Dany’s apartment, early to pick her up just as he had promised to her. He knocked three times and waited for her to open the door. Hopefully it would be Dany to open the door and greet him this time. He remembered the last time he had gone to pick her up, which was for their date in the park. He yelled at her uncle’s caretaker, slightly more aggressive than he should have been for someone he’d never met before. But who could blame him? If a guy in his situation had come to visit their girlfriend, only for the door to be opened by a man who looks relatively close to their age, they’d probably have some questions too. Luckily for him, it was Dany who greeted him. 

“Morning! You look great today.” He complimented her with a cheer that was far too early in the morning for. Especially for her. She looked especially exhausted today. 

“Uh, thanks. I just have to fix a few things for my uncle and grab my bag, then we can go. You can come inside.” She stepped aside, leaving room for him to walk inside the apartment. She disappeared off into what was probably the kitchen, leaving Jon alone in the living room. He stood there awkwardly at first, not knowing what to do. But as he looked around the room, he noticed a few picture frames that he decided to take a look at. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look, would it? Jon was pretty sure it wouldn’t, so he helped himself. 

He walked over to the middle of the room, to a medium sized frame that stood on a small coffee table between two couches, with two smaller ones on either side of it. He picked up the smaller one to the left, taking a closer look. It was a photograph of Dany and her uncle. It must’ve been taken a little while back, when her uncle was still able to get to places without much trouble. They were standing in front of a large Christmas, most likely the one that’s set up in the middle of Winterfell’s largest mall every season. Her uncle was only using a cane, and not stuck in the wheelchair he’d seen him in before. Even though he was blind, he was smiling brightly at the camera that was pointed at them. To his right, Dany was holding onto his arm, giving him support, smiling just as bright to the camera. 

Jon smiled at how happy Dany looked. Then he moved on to the medium sized frame that was in the middle of the smaller ones, which seemed to be the centerpiece of the table. It was a horizontal picture, the photograph taking up the whole frame. He studied for a second, confused as to who was who in this picture, when it dawned on him. 

It was a picture of Dany with her family when she was younger. 

It confused him at first when he picked it up, as the woman in the picture looked exactly like Dany. But as he looked closer, he could see a few differences in age separating her from his girlfriend. The woman was no doubt her mother though, for who else could it be? The older man next to her must be her father, the slight wrinkles forming in the corner of his eyes and his forehead a telltale sign of his age. There were two other males in the picture, obviously much younger looking than the previous one. They were probably Dany’s brothers from the look of it. It was easy to know who the oldest one was, as he looked to be the tallest, with a more mature face. The younger boy looked like he was around the same age as Jon was right now. 

Finally, Jon looked at the last member of the family, the bright haired little girl who was the center of the picture, and most likely the center of the family’s joy. Dany, Jon couldn’t help but think affectionately. She looks so young here. The entire family was looking at her, huge smiles on their faces as it looked like they were laughing. They were all looking at Dany, who looked up at them, beaming. She had on a princess dress with a matching tiara to top it all off. The picture filled Jon with all sorts of emotions. Happiness for one, seeing how happy this family of five looked. And sadness, when he remembered Dany’s words to him from before. 

_‘The rest of my family is dead. They all died when I was six years old.’_

She couldn’t have been more than five years old in this photograph, and suddenly, Jon was filled with all sorts of depressing emotions, almost all for Dany. _How did they all die though? A car accident?_

“I think I was around four years old in that.” 

The sudden voice next to Jon startled him, and he nearly dropped the frame. He didn’t though, and set it back carefully where it was on the table. He shut his eyes then opened them. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry around like that-”   
  


“Don’t be. It’s out in the open for a reason. If I wanted to hide it, it wouldn’t be out here.” She smiled at him, but the look in her eyes showed she was anything but happy. Jon looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked her gently. He didn’t mean to pry, but the mystery of her family had him curious. 

But she shook her head. “No, not- not right now…” She took a brief pause, looking up at him, her eyes asking if that was okay. Of course it was, and he nodded to show that it was well within her right to not say anything. “We should get going, before we’re late.” Glancing up at the clock that hung on the wall, Jon noted that there was only about 20 minutes left until the school bell would ring. Nodding, he followed her out of the apartment, waiting for her to lock the door behind her, then walking with each other out to his bike, before taking off to school. 

.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Jon stood up from his seat and walked out, all before cursing himself that he had plans with Dany, whom he’d just left behind in the same exact class he had. Walking back, she rolled her eyes as soon as she saw him and he gave her a sheepish grin.

“Sorry.” 

She shook her head, acting fake-disappointed in him. “I know you want to get away from me as much as possible, but I’d rather you say it instead of just walking out like that.” She was clearly teasing him. 

“You know that’s not true. I was just.. excited, that’s all.” 

“And what exactly has you so excited that you forgot about me, when we were literally sitting next to each other in the same class talking not even one minute before the bell rang?” 

Jon ignored the slight diss at him, instead grinning at her (like a fool probably). “I’m taking you out to lunch!”   
  
She stared at him, no expression on her face. “You’re taking me out to lunch?” Her voice repeated his sentence, sounding monotonous. 

“Yes I am. So let’s go.” And so he took her hand into his, leading her through the crowd of people in the hallway. Once they got to his bike, he handed her a helmet, ignoring her questions and protests. 

“I’ll explain later, just hold on tight.” He told her over his shoulder, as he revved up the engine and drove away, meaning to maximize all the time they had for lunch. Once they got driving, Jon took a deep breath, enjoying the breeze against his face as they drove along the road. He even smiled one of those smiles in the movies. It may or may not have had to do with the fact that Dany had her arms wrapped around him tightly, not uncomfortably tight, but tighter than she had been holding him before they dated. And the feel of her small arms around his abdomen and her head resting against his back had Jon grinning like an idiot, and relishing in the feel of it all. 

.

“We’re here!” Jon called over his shoulder as he found a parking space. He kicked the peg stand into place, hopping off his bike, whilst holding his hand out for Dany to hold onto to step off. 

She took her helmet off, handing it to him to put next to his on the bike. “ _‘Game of Food’_ ?” Dany looks up at Jon with a raised eyebrow at the name. He only nods, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“Yup. It’s a new restaurant that opened like a month ago or somethin’. I tried it once, and it’s great. They have some of the best soup and sandwiches here.” 

Jon makes a gesture to go inside, which Dany follows, smiling at him when he opens the door for her. He leads her to a window seat, sitting across from her. 

“It smells amazing in here.” He watches with amusement when she closes her eyes to let the aroma of the food inside fill her senses. And he has to admit, she looks absolutely adorable doing it. When she opens her eyes, she finds him staring at her, causing a blush to grace her face. It only makes her even cuter in Jon’s eyes. Quickly, her eyes find the menus on the table, and she grabs it to find something to eat. Jon copies her actions, the second menu waiting for him to open up. 

“Can I help you guys get started, or do you still need a bit of time to think?” An elderly woman comes to their table, breaking them out of their focus with the menu. Jon looks to Dany, silently asking if she’s ready to order. He seems to communicate clearly, and she nods. 

“Uh, I’ll just get the half slice of the tuna melt please. And some water.” The lady takes down her order, nodding as she writes it. Then she looks over to Jon. 

“And what would you like?” 

  
“The chicken sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries and a pepsi.” 

The waitress does the same as she did with Dany, writing his order down and nodding. “Alright, I’ll get those up right up for the two of you.” She leaves, leaving Dany and Jon to themselves. 

“The tuna melt’s a pretty small order. Half slice at that. Aren’t you hungry?” Jon questions her food choice. Surely she would have ordered something a little heavier than the smallest item on the menu (besides the salads and kids options of course). 

“It was the cheapest one. I feel bad enough that you took the time out of your day to take me here, I don’t want you to have to pay a bunch for my food too. I’ll pay you back, by the way.” 

Jon shakes his head at her. _This girl._ “No, you’re not paying me back- no let me talk first- I insist that you don’t. And you shouldn’t have to worry about me spending my time taking you here or spending my money. I brought you here so that you can have an actual, full lunch Dany. It completely defeats the purpose if you get something that won’t fill you up.” 

She knew he was right, but she clearly didn’t want to admit it. The size of Jon’s heart grew just a little to hear Dany care so much about him. But it wasn’t like he didn’t want her to care for herself first. He was trying to do her a big favor, and she just had to go along and try and be a good person. 

“Here are your orders.” The waitress came back with their food in hand, stopping whatever conversation they were going to have. “Your tuna melt.” She handed Dany her order, just as small as he expected it to be, along with her water. “And here’s your chicken sandwich and pepsi.” She turns to Jon with his order, laying it down for him on the flat of the table. “Enjoy.” They both turn and thank the woman before turning back and consuming their food. 

.

They finish around the same time, Dany being a slow eater with her small sandwich, and Jon all but devouring his lunch quickly. There’s still some fries left on his plate that he notices Dany looking at. He takes initiative, grabbing the few fries left and putting them on her plate, which surprises her. 

“I don’t-” 

  
“Hush and eat them. I saw you staring at them.” 

  
“I wasn’t-” 

  
“Dany.” He silents her with the same look she gives him to shut his mouth, which effectively does the same effect on her. Sighing, she takes a singular fry and takes a bite out of it, then another, then another, until it’s gone. It’s the same process for the rest of it, and by the time she’s done, the waitress comes back with their check and takes their empty plates away. Before she can do anything with it, Jon snatches the check book off the side of the table, glancing at the price and pulling his wallet out, ignoring any and all protests coming from the opposite side of the table. He decides to use cash, letting whatever chance was left for the waitress to use as a tip. He leaves it on the table and takes Dany’s hand to lead her back out to the parking lot. 

“You need to stop spending so much money on me Jon, it isn’t fair nor is it a good habit.” 

  
Jon scoffs, sensing the impending argument they’re about to have. “It wasn’t even that much Dany.” 

  
“I’m not just talking about the food. All the money you give me for our lessons, but also for this lunch, it’s too much Jon. And I can’t accept anymore from you.” Jon couldn’t tell whether she was being serious about it, or was just saying to be a good person.

“Dany, we’re not arguing about this. You act like I’m being forced to spend on you or something. I know what I’m doing and how much I’m spending, and to be frank, it’s not even that much. Not to sound like I’m bragging or anything, but you know my family’s rich. I have the money to be able to afford giving you some of it. So please, as your boyfriend, can we not argue about this anymore? I just want to help you out a little, in any way I can.” His words must either hit her somewhere or completely miss her, and he knows it’s either one as she chooses not to say anything, and grabs the helmet on his bike behind him instead. Placing a gentle hand on her arm, he gets her attention. 

“Don’t be mad.” His tone is quiet and soft. 

“I’m not mad. Can we just, go back please?” She doesn’t look up at him, but looks straight ahead. 

“Aye, we’ll go back.” He’s not sure when exactly he slips back into his accent, but he does. They’re both silent on the way back to school, but Jon’s reassured by the tight grip around his torso and the head still resting against his back, and indication that she didn’t completely hate him. 

When they arrive back at school, there’s still a few minutes left of lunch, something that Jon takes advantage of. Once they put the two helmets back into place on the bike, he walks Dany to her next class, ensuring she gets their early. She doesn’t talk to him just yet, but her hand slips easily into his as they walk. They arrive at her classroom, and Jon takes the time to clear the air between them. He takes her by the shoulders and faces her squarely towards him, and lifts her chin so that she has no choice but to look directly into his eyes. 

“I don’t wanna argue with you.” There’s no one in the hallways, and he chooses to use the accent he knows she loves. “I just want you to stop worryin’ so much about money. It should be the least of your concerns right now. Your priority should be on school and your grades, and makin’ sure you get the top GPA in our class and becoming valedictorian. Allow me to treat you at least from time to time.” 

He looked into her eyes, her beautiful, unique violet eyes, and stared into them. A pool of lavender he could feel himself getting lost in, to the point of drowning. He broke out of his moment when she nodded. Shyly, she wrapped her slender arms around him, and he returned the embrace with the wrapping of his own arms around her. He wasn’t the biggest guy in the school, but either he was big enough or she was just that small that his arms could swallow her whole. 

“ _Thank you._ ” He could hear her voice, muffled from being pressed against his chest. You don’t have to thank me, he thought. He didn’t say anything though, choosing to tighten his grip around her to acknowledge her thanks instead. He wanted to grumble when she pulled away from him, just as he was getting lost in the moment. Jon supposes he should thank her for that instead. 

“I almost forgot to tell you, I can go to the party on Friday. I just have to head home after your game and take care of some stuff, then we can leave.” 

  
“I’ll pick you up from there then.” 

  
The school bell rang, announcing the end of lunch and the beginning of the next class period. With a deep kiss, he left her, proceeding to his own class and ignoring the calls of his name as he walked. 

There in his chest, he felt the same whirl of emotions he once felt after their second date, after he dropped her off at her apartment. It was the same hard thump in his chest, louder and more intense than usual. He didn’t acknowledge it. He couldn’t afford to. Whatever emotion he was feeling, it would only get more and more intense if he put a name to it. 

_This shouldn’t be real. It can’t be real. None of this should be real. It’s all a game. You can’t fall Jon, nobody will be there to pick you up._

He repeated the mantra over and over in his head on his way to class. Maybe if he kept telling himself that, he would actually listen. His actions and his thoughts were always so different from each other, especially with her. He told her all the things he wanted her to feel, but he was thinking the opposite. 

So when was it exactly that the lines began to blur, and he couldn’t tell what was a game, and what he was really feeling anymore? 

___

Just after the football game (which Jon and his team won, yet again, as Dany could proudly say). She couldn’t stay after the game and congratulate him as things had come up at home that required her immediate attention. She shot him a text, appreciating his understanding. They were going to see each other in a matter of minutes anyways. All things were fine back at the apartment, and it was just a false alarm (something Cedric profusely apologized for). 

Dany took one last long look at herself in the mirror, promising herself it would be the last time she looked in the reflective glass again. When she’d told Missy about the party, her friend expressed so much disappointment at not being there with Dany to her first high school party, saying she and Grey already a plans that evening. But she also expressed such excitement and joy for Dany, saying how proud she was of her that she was finally taking more steps to become a more open person. Of course, she insisted that Dany wear a cute dress or even a costume to a party, but Dany shut the idea down. Going to the party itself was a big enough move for her, she couldn’t feel it in her to be even bolder. Maybe one day, but today was not that day. Instead, she was wearing plain dark jeans and a short white blouse that was topped with a denim jacket. She was sure it looked casual enough for her, but not too laid back for a party. 

She took a step away from the mirror before any more negative thoughts could enter her brain about tonight. Jon should be here any minute now, then there’d be no time to think about how she looked. As if on cue, a knock sounded at the front door, and Dany jumped from her bed, taking her bag and greeting him at the door. She opened the door and threw herself in his arms as his own managed to catch her just in time. 

“Woah, hey. Nice to see you too.” 

  
“Congratulations on another win.” She gave him a beaming smile, as if she was the one who had won the game. 

“Thanks Dany.” When she pulled away from him, he scanned her from bottom to top. The act made Dany self conscious again, and suddenly she wanted to retreat back to her room. Jon must have sensed her discomfort when he tugged her back in his arms. “Hey, don’t do that. You look amazing.” 

  
She pulled away from him, but this time, to get a good look at him. Starting from the top, his hair looked freshly washed, as it should after his game. Most of it was dried, and the natural curls were coming back. It suddenly struck Dany that she never touched them in the time they’d been together, a shocking thought. She’ll have to test for herself just how soft they are, and if they feel as good as they look. Moving downwards, his outfit was his signature black, from a black t-shirt that fit his arms, to the leather jacket that seemed to make him look like a hot badass, and his dark black jeans that hung closely to his well formed legs. Dany was grateful then for all the football practice he’s had. It’s clearly paid off on his body. 

“Like what you see?” Her gaze went back up to meet his eyes before they could explore any lower on his body. He smirked when her eyes widened and she blushed, biting her lower lip to keep from smiling. 

“What happens if I say yes?” 

  
Jon throws his head back and laughs upwards, leaving his neck completely visible for Dany to see. His adam’s apple bobs as he expresses his amusement, and Dany has to gulp down hard to keep from doing anything she wasn’t completely ready for. When he sobers up, he puts his hand over her shoulder as they walk down the hallway, and he leans to her ear. 

“Don’t worry. I like what I see too.” 

If his accent could be a blanket, Dany was sure she’d never let go of it for as long as she lived. She’d be attached to it like a baby would be to its favorite stuffed animal. She needed to stop getting ahead of herself though. All the thoughts that entered her brain were thoughts that she knew she wasn’t ready for yet- even if they were pleasurable thought. One step at a time Daenerys! She told Jon she wanted to take things slow, and here she was rushing and thinking way ahead of herself. How foolish could she be? \

They reach his motorcycle on the parking lot, going through the same procedure as they do everytime and take off for the party. Dany holds tightly onto Jon as he drives them. Not only does he look good but he smells great too. Perhaps if she weren’t so caught up in the masculine smell of him, she’d think she is being incredibly weird for commenting on the smell of someone. But she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t a scent that was far too strong for her senses, as many guys in her grade loved to do, but it wasn’t like there was nothing there either. It fell just right in the middle, and Dany’s sure she’s just discovered her new favorite smell.

.

_This is a fucking mansion._

She doesn’t usually swear, but Dany couldn’t help but be amazed at how big the house is. The host, Arianne Martell, was one of a rich family, just like Jon’s, and it showed. It was a modern villa design, and Dany is pretty sure the thing was bigger than her entire apartment building. She stops herself from being too amazed at the house, and surveys the outside instead. There are many cars parked outside the house, and she can hear the booming music quite clearly from the outside. A hand rests on her left shoulder. 

“You okay?” Jon asks her from her side. Dany answers by nodding, rather dumbly if she may add. 

“This place is huge.” She tells him. He scoffs lightly, catching her attention. 

“Not really. C’mon let’s go inside.” He tugs on her hand a little and leads her to the entrance of the house. Dany’s still caught up with the fact that he thought this wasn’t that big of a house. Just how big if house for him to think that? She doesn’t know whether she wants to find out or not. 

Inside, the music is even louder, and there are people dancing, laughing, and talking in every corner of the house, it seems like. There are even strobe lights and a fog machine, making this party that much more over the top. Jon seems unfazed by it all as he continues leading her through the pool of bodies. Dany’s suddenly made aware of all the females in the room when they began greeting Jon with their not-so-subtle flirtatious ways. Some are all dressed up in their Halloween costumes while others wore short dresses that completely brought out their curvy figures. There’s a specific girl that comes close to Jon, greeting him with a touch on his shoulder and a few words she can’t quite hear over the noise. Jon says a few things to her, and the girl leaves, not even batting an eye to Dany. At once, Dany’s mind starts to make a list of reasons why she doesn’t go to parties, and why she wants to leave this one in particular. 

  1. _There’s too many girls flirting with Jon._




It wasn’t like she was jealous or possessive or anything. In fact, she and Jon already had their argument on this subject, the very same subject that led him to officially ask her out. Even Jon said that he would never look at another girl like he would her, it didn’t make Dany feel any less conscious about herself. 

  1. _It’s way too loud, and there’s too many people._




The music, the strobe lights, the bodies and bodies of high schoolers in the room begin to overwhelm her. Her chest feels tight out of nowhere, and she wants to run outside to the chilling October nighttime air so that she could breathe properly. She can’t though, the hand in hers that pulled her through the crowd the only thing keeping her from running outside. Dany doesn’t know when exactly he turns around, but she feels as they stop walking and she walks into his chest without looking. 

“Are you okay?” The question is meant to be a reassuring one, but it’s ruined when Jon as to practically yell it out so that she could hear. She nods, really not wanting to yell. He looks at her for a moment, before turning back and leading her on their path to wherever he was taking her. Dany knew this was a big house, but she feels as though she’s been walking a mile in a straight line without stopping. Finally they get to where they need to be, which is the space between the living room and dining area. She feels as Jon lets go of her hand, greeting someone in front of him. She has to move around him to see who it is. It’s a guy that Jon seems quite familiar with. His hair is an auburn red color, slightly curly like Jon’s but not as much. He’s also a little bit taller than him too, but just by an inch or two. Before she could get a better chance to study him, Jon pulls her back to his side, as if she was a balloon that he’d accidentally let go of. 

“Dany this is my brother Robb. Robb, this is Dany, my girlfriend.” The auburn head finally has a name to her. 

“ _Older_ brother.” He corrects Jon. 

“Will you quit that? You’re not _that_ much older than me.” 

Robb laughs at Jon’s annoyance. “Girlfriend, huh? How am I just hearing about this?” Dany’s struck with surprise when she hears that Jon hasn’t told his own brother of her. Surely his brother would know of her right? Next to her, Jon shrugs and takes the drink that Robb offers him. “Oh, by the way, I’m pretty sure Quentyn’s spiked the bowl of punch.” Robb tells him, just as Jon takes a drink of it. Dany cringes when he drinks it. She’s aware that Jon’s drunken before, but she doesn’t like seeing it for herself. Granted, she’d rather Jon didn’t drink at all, but who was she to stop him? 

He’s smiling when he’s done with his sip of the drink, holding it in his free hand, the hand that wasn’t wrapped around her. He glances to her, but does a double take when he catches sight of her slight frown. Dany looks away from him, though she doesn’t have much else to look at. When she looks back to him, he’s handing his drink back to Robb, and the hold around her waist tightens. When he looks at her, it’s with a small smile on his face. 

Jon and his brother fall into a steady conversation with each other, somehow through the commotion of the house. She doesn’t leave his side, but she chooses not to listen in on their conversation either. Even if she wanted to, she’d barely be able to hear a word they’re saying to each other. However, Dany doesn’t want to be a hindrance in their communication, so tries to leave by attempting to peel Jon’s arm that’s around her off. Their conversation stops when he whips his head to look at her, immediately taking her arm and stopping her from walking off. 

“Where are you goin’?” His question isn’t aggressive, but it’s loud in a way for her to hear it. Because she doesn’t want to yell, she leans in closely to him instead. 

“I just wanna look around. I don’t want to bother you and your brother, don’t worry about me. I’ll find you later.” When she tries to leave, she’s stopped when he doesn’t let go. 

“Dany, are you sure? There’s way too many people here, I don’t think you’ll want to do that. You aren’t bothering us anyways. If you want to take a look around, I’ll come with you. I can always talk with Robb at home.” 

She’s sure he can, but it doesn’t change her decision. She needs this opportunity to go by herself and explore around the house, see all the things that happen at a high school party. So she shakes her head. “I’ll be fine Jon. Stay with your brother. I’ll find you later.” She gives him a look, catching his eyes with hers. He’s scanning her eyes, and for a brief second, all the sound in the room is muted when he bores his eyes into hers. Sighing, he relents. “Stay here, I need to get you something.”   
  
She does as she’s told and stays put. When Jon comes back, it’s with a red plastic cup in his hands, similar to the one he’d been drinking from earlier. He thrusts it into her hands. 

She refuses to drink a spiked fruit punch though. “What’s this?” She asks him, in a slightly accusing tone. He shakes his head, knowing what she’s thinking. 

“It’s just soda, I promise. I tried a bit of it. Just take it with you so nobody’s tempted to ask if you want a drink.” 

  
Immediately understanding, Dany nods, and she’s about to turn around and leave when he stops her again. The look on his face is completely serious. 

“Don’t accept a drink from anybody, no matter who it is or what they say. Don’t accept anything from anyone at all. If you ever feel uncomfortable, find me immediately and we’ll leave. Do you hear me Dany?” 

She thinks he’s being a little too over dramatic about it, but she wisely chooses not to say anything about. Instead, she nods. She understands completely what he’s trying to warn her about. It’s then that he lets go of her, though a bit hesitant. When she walks away from him, she can see from her peripheral the movement of another girl going towards Jon. Dany wants to turn around and go back, and plant herself back next to Jon and have him wrap his arm around her waist again to eliminate any forward thoughts the girl might have. But she doesn’t, and chooses to walk farther away instead. She has to trust that Jon won’t do anything, especially without her there. 

Dany walks past a flurry of dancing bodies, successfully avoiding them all. As she walks past, she begins to smell a sweet scent in the air, something which wasn’t originally there before. Looking around while walking, she tries to spot where the source of it is. She isn’t exactly struck surprise when she sees a group of people huddled in the corner of a room together, a small puff of vapor flowing outside of their mouths as they inhale from the pen in their hands. She immediately notes that they’re the ones she’s going to want to distance herself from. Dany continues walking, taking small sips every now and then of the drink in her hands. True to his word, it was just soda in her cup, not a hint of any suspicious and illegal drinks in it. 

Miraculously, she manages to find a room that isn’t as crowded as the other previous ones were. It’s a pretty room at that as well. There’s an indoor garden inside of it, something quite beautiful to Dany. On the opposite side of it, there’s a large floor-to-ceiling window revealing the backyard, barely seen in the dark of the night. She’s sure this room looks gorgeous in the dawn of the morning. There’s a few doors on the other side of the windows, and a staircase leading up. She doesn’t want to venture too far, so she stays on the ground level. 

The tranquility of the room has Dany dreading to go back outside to Jon, where she’ll have to face the loud music and people again. She stays put in the room, studying the details of the floor, the walls, and even the ceilings. 

“Quite a beautiful room isn’t it?” The quietness of it was broken by a voice. Dany turns around, gasping softly at the sudden voice. It was a tall man, with black hair similar to Jon’s. But where Jon’s was curly and wild, his was straight. And another difference was that where Jon’s smiles always made her feel bubbly and happy inside, this man’s smile made her feel as if she was waiting for a jump scare to happen. The unwelcomed man looked at her expectantly, and Dany realizes that he had asked her a question. She nods quickly and swallows. 

“It’s pretty in here.” She doesn’t know whether he heard her reply or not, given how soft it came out. 

“Indeed it’s very beautiful in here.” His creepy smile comes back on his face as he looks at her. “Why, I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What is your name?” 

Dany decides that it’s probably wise to just give him what he wants so that she could leave as quickly as she can, preferably very far away from him. “D-Daenerys.” 

“A pretty name. Quite fitting for you. I’m Ramsay Bolton.” He sticks his hand out for her to shake, but Dany can’t quite get herself to remove her shaking hands from the soda cup. She isn’t sure she wants to anyways. He retracts her hand when he realizes she won’t shake it. 

“Shy one aren’t you? It’s okay, I was once like that too. We might be able to find some common ground with each other.” He smiles again, and takes a step forward towards her. Dany’s chest tightens up, and she wants nothing more than to go back to Jon and just leave this place. But by the look of it, this guy doesn’t seem like he’d let her go that easily. When he takes another step forward, Dany takes a similar step back, wanting to get away from him as much as she could. “Tell me, are you here alone? Surely a girl as pretty as you can’t have come without someone.” 

Dany shakes her head at his question to give him his answer. 

“Not much of a talker are you? A screamer, perhaps?” When Dany’s eyes widen, it’s then she understands what he’s looking for. Then he starts laughing, and it’s enough to raise the small hairs on the back of her neck and cover her body with goosebumps. 

“Oh, I’m only joking. We’re at a party, let us enjoy ourselves.” 

This time he takes two faster steps towards her and Dany all but runs to the nearest door, which is behind her. If she thinks she was fast, then he was much faster, and just as she’s about to slam the door shut, his hand stops it, and he walks inside. 

“Now, that’s not a nice way to make friends, is it Daenerys?” 

He locks the door behind him, and Dany realizes she’s locked herself in the small space of a bathroom. The tightening in her chest gets worse, and her mouth goes dry along with her throat. She’s positive she’s shaking like crazy right now, and she wants nothing more than to cry at this very moment. _Jon, where’s Jon? I need him! Jon where are you?!_ She doesn’t think she’s needed him more than she has in this exact moment. 

The look on Ramsay’s face goes dark as his advancing steps to her gets slower but just as persistent. 

“Leave me alone. _Please._ Just let me go back outside. I-I wo-won’t bother you, I p-promise. Let me leave.” Just like her hands, her voice is trembling with each word, and she even struggles to speak due to the dryness. Dany has nowhere else to go, the wall behind her back a harsh reminder that she was trapped. Her hands are trembling so much that she almost drops her drink. Then she remembers of the object in her hands, which she throws it at him, effectively wetting him from the liquid inside the cup. It’s at once she regrets what she’s done when he begins laughing and tsks. 

“You’ve gotten my shirt all wet Daenerys. If you wanted it off, you could have just said.” His steps stop as he strips the wet piece of clothing off him, leaving him bare chested to her. 

_No._

_“P-p-please. Let me leave, **please.** I wanna go_.” 

This time, she’s on the floor, her knees close to her chest as she begs this strange, terrible man. This stranger who’s making her relive her worst nightmares with Drogo. Her position on the bathroom floor makes it even more difficult for her to breathe than before, and Dany is left gasping for whatever air she can get. 

  
  
  


_“Let go of me Drogo!”_   
  


  
_“I’m nowhere near done with you.”_

  
  
Dany’s crying freely now as the harsh memories of Drogo start coming to her mind involuntarily. Ramsay’s looming freely over her body now. The short gasps of breath that was her only access to oxygen is beginning to leave her light headed, and her vision is getting swirled. Ramsay seems farther away from her than he actually is, and when he crouches down to her level and cups her cheek, her brain shuts down, and the last thing on her mind before it happens is if she was the source of the ear piercing scream. 

___ 

  
  


The entire party comes to an immediate halt when an incredibly loud scream rang through the house, even Jon’s conversation with Robb had been cut off. People begin to whisper to each other, and Arianne, who’s been practically glued to Jon’s side (annoyingly so now that he thinks about it) leaves to investigate whoever it was that caused it. 

It was a scream of that of a girl, the feminine timbre of it was clear to Jon. But it didn’t sound like that of a girl receiving immense pleasure, but more of a scream of someone who’s about to be murdered. Jon looks around the room, scanning for anything suspicious. But everyone seems to be equally confused as to what happened. 

_Wait-_

_Where was Daenerys?_

Jon’s heart immediately speeds up, not of the emotion that he feels every time he’s with her, but out of fear. She should’ve been back here with him already. And suddenly, when he replays the scream again, it’s clear to him who it belonged to. 

_“Dany!”_

  
The next thing he knows, he’s pushing past all the bodies in the room to get to where she was. He didn’t even know where exactly she was, but his feet continued running. He was made faintly aware of Robb running right behind him when he calls out his name. Jon ignores it. _If something happens to her._

His feet lead him to a room with an indoor garden and floor to ceiling windows. He calls out to her, his voice loud and desperate for a response. He gets none and Jon’s just about ready to look through every single godsdamned room in this house when he hears a noise behind one of the doors. He runs to it, grabbing the door knob and twisting, but it doesn’t open. He can clearly hear the voices behind the door now, the soft gasps and cries coming from inside and the voice of a male clear in his head. 

“ _Open this door, goddamnit!”_ Jon’s got the attention of all the partygoers in the house when he slams the door, cursing whoever was behind it trying to hurt _her._

_I swear to all the fucking gods if he hurts her._

He briefly feels Robb’s hand behind him trying to calm him down, but he doesn’t listen, doesn’t pay attention. Instead, he takes a step back, then forward, kicking the door down in a mere instant. 

The fear and the anger has his heart beating to a surely irregular rhythm, and his breathing is already deep. But the moment he knocks the door down and sees what’s inside, there’s nothing but a complete dark red coloring his vision. 

Dany, _his sweet, innocent Dany,_ is on the floor, crying her eyes out, her knees pressed against her chest and her arms over her head, trying to guard herself. Above her, the man Jon is about to send straight to hell. His mind doesn’t have time to register who it is when he runs to him. The fucker has no shirt he can grab and drag him down to the floor with, because it’s already off of him. So he knees him, _hard,_ in the chest where it’ll hurt to breathe and the man (it’s not a proper word to describe him as he shouldn’t even be considered a human being) doubles over on the ground, clutching his bare chest. Jon is about to knee his face in, seeing that he was already at level, when Robb pulls him back. The ringing and pounding in his Jon’s ears prevent him from hearing what Robb has to say. 

His eyes find Dany and he rushes to her, crouching down to her level. “ _Dany. Dany, it’s me, it’s Jon_.” He’s scared she didn’t hear him, her soft gasps and her tears, coupled with her hands over her ears most likely blocking her hearing. Gently, he removes her hands from her ears with some effort, as she had her hands glued to her head. He strokes her hair, calling out to her once more. “ _Dany, look at me_.” 

She still isn’t looking at him. Jon can feel all the eyes staring at him and Dany, and he has an overwhelming need to shield her from their gaze. Dany doesn’t deserve to be watched like a piece of meat on display at her most low. He’s suddenly so thankful for Robb, who drags the guy Jon has just knocked the wind out of, and ushers everyone away from him and Dany. He’ll find a way to pay him back for helping them out eventually. 

He turns his attention back to Dany, who he fears is going to pass out from the lack of oxygen. Jon sits down on the floor next to her, and gently lifts her body up until he’s cradling her in his arms. It’s in the back of his mind at how light she was and how effortlessly he lifted her. She makes a noise of protest from the back of her throat, not registering who it was that was touching her. He brushes her hair out of the way and strokes it down, calling to her. 

_“Dany, it’s Jon. It’s just me. Come back to me, please. I need you to come back to me_.” 

Gradually, he can feel her coming back to him, her eyelids blinking a few times to clear the tears out of the way. His thumb caresses her cheek softly, absorbing up whatever tears were streaming down her face. 

  
When she speaks, it’s barely a crack of her voice, and croaky, her throat definitely dry. “ _Jon._ ” He hears her struggle to breathe properly still. 

He gives her a small smile, lifting her up so that her face was level with his while still sitting on his lap. “It’s me Dany. You’re okay, no one’s gonna hurt you anymore. But I need you to breathe with me, do you understand? Just follow me until it’s exactly like mine.” 

And he breathes, counting slow and steady with each inhale and exhale. She struggles to follow him at first, her hiccups preventing her. After some time, their breathing is synchronised. As soon as it is, Jon hugs her close, whispering all sorts of apologies into her ear. 

_“I’m so sorry Dany. Gods, I’m so sorry. I never should’ve left you alone. We shouldn’t have gone to this party in the first place. It’s all my fault, I’m so sorry.”_

She doesn’t say anything, and had it not been for her arms clutching tight onto him, he’d think she was upset at him. That she blamed him for getting hurt. But she isn’t mad, not that he knows of anyways. It’s then that he’s brought back to reality, and the world outside of the room that included everyone else, reminding him that it wasn’t just him and Dany. 

“Let’s go. We’re leaving.”

He helps her off his lap and helps her get up from the floor. He wraps his hand protectively over her shoulder, bringing her as close as she could possibly get with him while walking. He does this to shield her as much as he can from the eyes of the people in the house. Their stares seem to follow them as they leave, and Jon dreads all the questions that are going to be asked about this party. He dreads the fact that everyone will know about him and Dany if they already haven’t known. He hates that because of him, she’ll have to face a storm of people who have no business wondering about their private lives, all because of him. 

They make it out of the house where thankfully no one is outside to openly stare at them. She doesn’t say anything when he puts the helmet on her. She doesn’t say anything when he helps her on the bike. But when he’s about to drive away and take her back home, he hears her loud and clear. 

“ _I don’t wanna go home yet Jon_.” 

He pauses from taking off. If she doesn’t want to go home, then where does she want to go? Where can he take her that will be a safe and calm place? Glancing at his watch, he sees that it’s only just nearing 8:30. They still have some time together. So he takes her to the next best place he can think of. 

.

They’re standing outside of a local restaurant that he’s sure Dany will like. He even knew the owner personally, having shared a few memories together. He’s taken her to two food places that were among his top choices in all of Winterfell, but he’d yet to take her here. 

‘ _Hot Pies’ Bakery_ ’ 

She doesn’t question the name, nor question what they’re doing here. She doesn’t say anything at all. She doesn’t say anything when he opens the door for her, neither does she comment on the place itself. Instead, she sits down at the nearest table booth she can find, not saying a word. Jon swallows, clearly seeing that she was still shaken up. But he knows she needs to eat something, so he tells her to wait for him while he orders something for the two of them. 

“Hi Jon! It’s nice to see you here! What would you like for tonight?” The ever chirpy owner, the namesake himself, Hot Pie, delightedly greeted him. 

“Hi Hot Pie. I think I’ll just get the direwolf bread and the chocolate pie.” Hot Pie nods, clicking his order into the machine. He happily takes Jon’s credit card, swiping it through before giving it back to him. 

“I’ll serve your order right up for you Jon! You can take your seat.”   
  
Jon thanks him and returns back to his table where Dany is. She’s still ever so silent, staring at the void seat in front of her. Instead of sitting opposite to her, he takes the empty seat next to hers. He doesn’t know what to say that will make her feel better, so he settles on taking her hand that’s sitting on her lap and holding it in his, caressing it and drawing shapes on it with his other hand. She looks down at their joined hands and looks at him. Their eyes meet for a long time, and Jon chooses to take this moment to communicate with her, and apologize to her in every way you can. She understands what he’s trying to tell her, thankfully enough. 

“It’s not your fault.” 

She insists that it isn’t his doing, that it wasn’t his fault Ramsay (his brain managed to register much later) decided to terrify her. But he couldn’t help but take the blame. Had he not suggested going to the stupid party, she wouldn’t be so shaken up. She wouldn’t have had to deal with memories of Drogo doing similar things to her. She wouldn’t have to worry about the impending questions they were going to get about tonight. 

“It feels like it is.” His voice is low when he admits it. She doesn’t say anything at that. He scoots closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. He doesn’t care that they’re in public. Besides, there were only one or two other customers in the bakery. “I’m still so sorry.” His voice is muffled as he nuzzles his face in her hair, breathing the sweet smell of her shampoo. Along with his rough accent on for her, he doesn’t think she can hear him, but she does. She responds to his apology by leaning into his touch, and they sit there, unbothered and holding onto each other. 

When he thinks back to it, Jon doesn’t think he’s ever been quite as terrified as he had been when he heard Dany’s scream. What if he hadn’t gotten to her in time? _No, stop that_! What-if’s were too dangerous to think about. He knows Dany is thinking the same. They’ve had enough scares for the night though, they don’t need anymore. 

“Here’s your order Jon! Oh, hello there Miss! I hope you two enjoy your food!” Hot Pie interrupts their moment and cheerfully greets Dany, who gives a soft, barely-there smile. He sets their food down on the table for them and leaves, singing softly to himself as he returns back to the kitchens. He slides the chocolate pie and a fork to her and she takes it. They eat in peace next to each other. They’re never too far apart, their thighs touching beneath the table, a signal to the other that they were here for each other. 

When they finish, Jon takes her out for a walk underneath the lights that were strung from building to building, holding hands. They walk for a while, enjoying the silence between them as they did. He doesn’t think there could be a better way to spend the rest of a Friday night, and to close of the school week. Unless it was with Dany, then there could always be a way to top each night and time spent together. When they finish walking, he leads her to a bench, and they cuddle with each other, as they watch the park in front of them. His arm is resting on the bench behind her, her head resting on his shoulder. 

“Thank you, for what you did earlier. For everything you’ve done for me.” She breaks the long silence between them and he turns to look at her. 

“You don’t have to thank me.” She flashes him a small smile, and it seems to make her glow under the stringed lights. 

“Maybe. But I still want to.” 

She rests her head again on his shoulder, and Jon thinks they’ve returned back to their peaceful silence, when she speaks up again. “I want to tell you something.” He knows it’s going to be a serious talk when she pulls away from him to face him entirely, so Jon does the same. “It’s about my family. I think I’m ready to tell you about them.” Jon is confused for a moment, then it dawns on him. 

“Dany, you don’t have to. I’m not expectin’ anything from you.” He tries to tell her. 

“I know you aren’t. But I still feel like you should know. I’m telling you willingly Jon, so please, let me.” She looks very serious when she asks him, pleads with him, so he lets her. She takes a deep breath to calm herself, takes his hand in hers and laces them together, then begins to explain. 

“My family didn’t all die when I was six years old. The last of them did. It-it started with my mother, when I was four years old. I don’t know how I can remember so young, but I remember clearly the day everything started going downhill. The picture you saw the other day in my living room? That was before my fourth birthday. I don’t know when I started to notice it, but everyday and every time my mother came home, she looked exhausted. I didn’t understand where she was always at or why she never had the energy to play with me anymore. She used to be this bright, cheerful, positive woman. I thought she was just sad, so I started drawing her pictures so that she could be happy again. She always said she loved them and would put them up on the wall when she had time. She told me she even brought them with her whenever she left the house. It was my fourth birthday soon, and I was so excited. My mother even helped me plan all the details of my birthday party. When I woke up the day on that day, I remember I even dressed myself up in that same princess outfit you saw. But my mother and father weren’t home. I asked my brothers, Rhaegar and Viserys, that was their names. I asked them where they were. They told me they stayed at the hospital overnight. Then my father came home, alone. When my brothers saw, they started crying, and went to their rooms. I didn’t understand what was happening then. I asked my father where she was.”

  
  


_“Papa! Where’s mommy? It’s my birthday! She can’t miss it.”_

_“Mommy can’t come, sweetheart.”_

  
  


“He told me she was gone. Every time she was gone from the house with my dad, they were at the hospital for treatment. She’d been taking my drawings with her every time. She died the day of my birthday. I didn’t really understand what was happening. My brothers and my father, the men in my life I looked up to, were crying everyday when I thought they’ve never shed a tear. I cried, but not as much as I would have if I were older and truly understood what was happening. It was at her funeral I realized she would never come back.

“My father was next after her. A couple weeks after her funeral, he started drinking. Heavily. Rhaegar, who was the oldest, tried to get him to stop, but he never would. He was constantly drinking. And when he wasn’t, he was passed out on his bed, or the couch. My brothers tried to move him to his room so that I wouldn’t have to see our father out like that. He loved my mother so much he followed her. Sometimes I heard him talking at night. At first I thought he was just sleep talking, but the more frequent it was, I knew then he wasn’t sleeping. It sounded like he was talking to her, but she wasn’t there. Eventually, he drank himself to death. He died from cirrhosis the night before my fifth birthday. At that point, both of my parents, the people I thought the entire world of, were gone. And it was just me and my brothers. 

“By that time, Rhaegar was a legal adult, and he managed to find himself a job that was enough to support us, while also in college. After my parents’ death, Rhaegar tried his hardest to try and make our lives normal again. He would cook lunch and dinner for us, he would read me bedtime stories. He even found the time to enroll me into kindergarten. He pretended to be happy for us, that things were going to be okay. I believed him. He was much like our own father before our mother left us. When Viserys turned eighteen, I remember he wanted to throw him a birthday celebration. They got into an argument about it, which at the time, I thought was hilarious. I thought maybe we’d be okay. That our parents will live on in our memories, but we’ll live on with our lives. Turns out, Rhaegar’s just a really good actor. Working a job, going to college, while taking care of his two younger siblings and making sure we had a house to live in and food to eat took a toll on him. Viserys was trying to help Rhaegar out by getting a part time job of his own, but in the end, it didn’t work. I found my oldest brother on the bathroom floor one morning, a bunch of pills spilled from a bottle in his hands and foam coming out of his mouth. I yelled for Viserys, screaming at Rhaegar to wake up. My brother rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late. Another member of my family gone.”   
  
At that point, Jon had heard enough. A few tears had already slipped from Dany’s eyes, and his own were filled with the liquid. “Dany-”   
  
“I’m not done.” She stopped him. Her grip tightened around his hands, and he wanted to pull her close, to stop her before she went too far and broke herself in. But she insisted, and who was he to stop her?”   
  
“It was just me and Viserys. When Rhaegar was alive, Vis was the one who picked me up from school. After that, I had to stay late until he got off work to pick me up. Our meals suddenly weren’t as grand as before. Sometimes Vis would even forget to pack my lunch for school because he had to rush off to get to work and to his classes. For so long I was afraid he would be like Rhaegar. That one day, I’d find him on the floor dead. I was terrified. My sixth birthday was coming up and I dreaded it. I didn’t want Vis to worry about me. I was thinking of so many things that a five year shouldn’t have to even think about. Of course, at the time, I thought about things in a different perspective, but I was still worried. It was my birthday, and Vis said he would pick me up from school on time. He said he would take me out to eat somewhere for my ‘special day’. I was so excited. I believed that nothing would happen. But he never came. I waited and waited after school with my teacher and he never came. I guess she called the police or something when nobody had come to pick me up. Two officers came, and it was late. They told me my brother was at the hospital. I was so scared I started crying, and they drove me to the hospital. A huge truck had hit my brother’s car on his way to pick me up. The crash killed him instantly. When I saw him lying on the hospital bed, I knew then that I was all alone. My entire family had died and I had nobody. They told me I had an uncle who was on his way, but I wanted my family. I wanted my parents, I wanted my brothers. My uncle was the only other member of my family, my dad’s brother. I’ve lived with him since then. Everyday I thought that death would find his way to him too and leave me alone again. But he’s still here with me today. I realized all the times a member of my family died, I never got to tell them that I loved them. I just wish-” 

  
Dany was suddenly cut off from continuing when she could no longer hold her tears back. Jon scooped her up into his arms, doing and saying whatever he can to comfort her. But he knew there was nothing that could be done to fill the certain void in her heart for her family. And so he let her cry it all out, allowing a few tears of his own to slip past. He recounted each tragic death of her family. The tragic story of her past. And he found himself wondering how the gods could do this to a girl like her. This girl who was kind and good hearted. This girl who had managed to overcome every obstacle in her way. She’d gone through hell and back, and still she was here in his arms because she decided to give him a chance. He doesn’t deserve, he thinks to himself. Nobody does. She didn’t deserve everything bad that’s happened to her. Jon doesn’t know where or how she managed to find the trust and bravery to tell him all this. Everything she’s told him, she’s told him out of trust. He’s already hurt her a few times, and every time she comes back to him. 

And when Jon thinks of the bet that Theon has made for him, when he thinks of the real reason as to how Dany is now here in his arms, he hates himself for it. He hates that the truth behind the reason why she’s found her way to him is all built on a fucking game. Maybe it was his fault. Maybe it was his own fault that he’s attached himself to her like he has. But listening to Dany telling him her story, Jon can’t help but think twice on everything he’s done. At the end of this all, what was he supposed to do? Lie to her? Leave her? Both options leave her even more hurt. And Jon hates his whole existence for it. He wants to call the whole thing off. He wants to tell Theon to go fuck himself, that he wasn’t playing his game anymore. He wants to help Dany grow. He wants to make Dany happy. Everything that’s happened tonight and all interactions he’s had with her before has led him to this realization. Seeing her at her lowest, at her most vulnerable, it pushes Jon, it spurs him to believe that he could help her. He doesn’t want to add to her hurt, to the pain in her _beautiful, good heart._ But to do that, he had to end whatever game Theon wanted him to play. All because he’s come to realize one thing; he was falling for her, hard and fast, and he’s scared what’ll happen as soon as he hits the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, yeah big chapter. Dany's past is now completely revealed to you all and to Jon. I gotta be honest, I don't have much of an idea on how to transition this to the next chapter or have a main idea of what the chapter is about. This chapter is just a little over 12000 words, so the next chapter might be a pretty short filler one until I get to another big turning event. It depends, we'll see ;) Forgive me for any mistakes towards the end, I was rushing to type it all because I had so much stuff I wanted to write it was a frenzy in my brain.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you thought of it (ngl I got a bit teary writing Dany's past). I hope you all have a Happy New Year, even if it isn't January 1st as you read this. Much love <3


	11. I've been holding back for the fear that you might change your mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon's siblings pester him about his new relationship with his girlfriend, as Dany's uncle does the same. An intense conversation is held between Jon and Theon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while! actually, it's been about 8 days, which is still a while. I know I promised I would get a chapter out at least once a week, but school started up again so I've been adjusting to that again. but enough of my excuses. I did plan on releasing this chapter after I finished writing chapter 12, which is currently about a quarter of the way written, but I decided to release it early. I don't want to keep y'all waiting even longer. It'd be pretty difficult for me to find time to post this on the actual 10th (it's the 9th right now) since I have an all day rehearsal, which is followed by another morning rehearsal the next day followed by a concert after that. I'll do my absolute best to get the next chapter after this one released once it's done, but I can't make any promise that it'll be quick. this chapter is a bit shorter than what I usually write, only about 4600 words, but I hope you'll like it anyways. 
> 
> anyways, enough of my blabber, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Jon was sure that deep down, and he means  _ deep, deep down, _ that somewhere in him, he probably loves his siblings to death. Maybe in some alternate universe, his siblings are some of the calmest, nicest, most understanding people he’ll ever know. But in this universe, it seems he didn’t strike so lucky. 

“You keep avoiding my question Jon. When did you and Dany become a thing?”    


  
“Dany? Jon, you have a girlfriend?”    


  
“Oh my gods you never told us you had a girlfriend!”    


  
“When are we meeting her? What’s she like?” 

_ “Gods  _ is she anything like Ygritte or Val?”

Sansa’s last question is what makes Jon snap. 

“No! Will you  _ please,  _ for the love of the Seven, stop talking like a bunch of  _ yellow minions _ ?!” Jon snaps at Robb, Sansa, and Arya, causing them to back down. At least they had the courtesy to look a little bit ashamed. Robb breaks the awkward-growing silence first. 

“Everybody’s been talking about you guys since the whole party fiasco at Arianne’s house. I’m kinda offended you never told me you had a girlfriend.” Robb feigns offence, placing a hand over his heart ‘wounded’. 

“I’m kinda offended you never  _ noticed,”  _ Jon shot back, before running a hand through his messy hair, trying to not get so riled up. “We haven’t been together for that long. We’ve gone on six dates, but we didn’t start seriously dating until around a month and a half ago.” Robb gives a low whistle at that, which Jon chooses to roll his eyes on. Since when did Robb start calling her ‘Dany’? Jon’s about to question him on that, but he controls himself before he can let his temper loose. Fortunately, he doesn’t say anything else, and it’s Arya’s turn. He feels like he’s in some sort of interrogation or interview of some sorts, having to answer all these questions being thrown at him.  _ If this is what life as an actor is like…  _

“Do we ever get to meet her? What’s she like?” Arya, his ever inquisitive little sister asks him. He still thinks she’s a bit too young to be dabbling in stuff like this, but it isn’t like he can stop her from growing up either. No matter how much he wishes to. 

Jon thinks for a moment, trying to find the words that can do  _ some  _ justice to describe Dany. He thinks of her whenever they’re on their dates or he joins her during passing periods and lunch, and how quiet and shy-like she can be. He thinks of her when she’s talking about her future and her plans for success, how passionate she speaks, as if she’s giving a motivating speech to an army. He thinks of her when she’s talking about her uncle or her best friend Missandei, how caring and gentle her tone is, and how she speaks of them so highly. He thinks of her when she’s trying to help him study for his tests, or learn new and confusing subjects, how patient and willing-to-help she is with him. Dany is many things, but he’s not sure words can describe how she is. But he manages to settle on a few that come pretty close to her. 

“Oh, brother, you’ve got it  _ so bad,  _ don’t you?” Sansa’s light voice breaks him out of his Dany-spell. He gives her a confused look, not sure what she’s talking about. “You’re smiling like an idiot.” She deadpans to him in a blank voice. 

Jon blushes, and he smiles even wider knowing he rarely ever blushes. But the thought of smiling so wide at the thought of Dany has him reddening like a teenager.  _ Wait, he is a teenager-  _

“I was just trying to think of some stuff.” When he’s met with three sets of eyes staring at him, he decides he has to answer Sansa’s question before they tease him even more. “Well, she’s-she’s definitely something. She’s super smart, like  _ crazy  _ smart. She has this huge goal of getting Valedictorian and graduating with the top GPA in our class. Oh, and she’s also the tutor I was talking about before with Mom and Dad.” He ignores the bulging eyes that he’s met with and continues. “She’s kind, and gentle, and caring. She’s pretty quiet and shy though, so she keeps to herself most of the time. Unless she’s with her best friend. She’s got the biggest heart a person can have, despite having gone through so much shit in her life. She’s strong, with like an iron will. On top of all of that and  _ so much more,  _ she’s probably the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Seriously, she’s got silvery blonde hair and violet eyes.” Jon stops himself before he gets too in detail of her lips. 

The three siblings in front of him are looking at him, their eyes still wide. Sometimes he wishes they were more like Bran and Rickon, who didn’t give a shit what was going on in his private, personal life. Sometimes. 

“Wow. I guess that answers my question.” Sansa breaks out of the quietness first. Jon thinks back to what her question was. He realizes that she was probably talking about whether Dany was anything like Ygritte or Val. If it wasn’t obvious enough already, then no, she was nowhere near like them. She was better. 

“You must really like her huh?” Robb asks him. Jon nods in response. 

“Yeah. Yeah I like her a lot.” Robb nods with him, and for a moment nobody speaks, until Arya does. 

“So when are meeting her?”    


  
Jon’s taken aback by her question. “I-what?”    


  
“When are we meeting your girlfriend?” She enunciates every single syllable of the words, as if he’s some foreign speaking tourist. Jon rolls his eyes at her sarcasm. 

“Not for a while?” He retorts. Arya’s shoulder slumps, and he’s not sure why she’s so upset. “What? Don’t you think it’s a bit too early on in the relationship for us to be meeting each other’s families? A month and a half, mind you.” He’s quick to remind his siblings of that piece of information. 

“So? Didn’t seem to stop you before.” Arya replies back, and Jon almosts gives her the finger.  _ Almost.  _

“ _ That  _ was different. Dany- she’s not Ygritte or Val. We agreed to go slow, and introducing her to you guys and Mom and Dad is way too advanced for her right now. I’m not trying to scare her away.” Arya narrows her eyes at him, in the way that always makes him feel like he’s being judged from the inside and out, before she shrugs and lets it go. He looks to Robb and Sansa. “Anymore questions?” He stretches his hands out to over exaggerate the gesture and question. 

“Not right now. But she seems like a lovely girl, Jon. She seems to be a good influence on you too. We’d all love to meet her soon, or one day. Mom and Dad included.” Robb and Arya nod and agree with Sansa’s statement, then they leave his room, leaving Jon alone in his room. 

He’s already met Dany’s best friend and half-met her uncle. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to at least ask her about wanting to meet his siblings first. His parents could wait. She’s already met Robb anyways from the party. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. 

It’s Sunday evening, two days after the disastrous party on Friday. Two days after Dany had her panic attack. Two days after she told him everything about her family. He’d almost sobbed like a baby when she told him. But he stopped himself before he did. She was already crying as it was, him crying would not make things any better. Besides, he was Jon Snow Stark. He never cried. 

After she told him everything, they sat on the bench for a while, her quiet sniffles the only sound between them as he held her in his arms. He hated to break the moment, but it was getting pretty late, and she had to get home soon. So he gently told her he would take her home, and she didn’t protest. She looked so tired in that moment. He took her home, both completely silent the entire time. She didn’t say anything as he walked her up to her apartment. When they got her to her room, she turned around and engulfed him in a tight embrace, her arms wound tightly around him. He returned the gesture, holding her just as tight in his own arms. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, whispering small nothings to it. 

She eventually let him go, but not before bringing him down to her level by the back of his neck and covering his mouth on hers. They’ve kissed many times before that, but this one felt different. This one was a deep one. Deeper than what two regular high schoolers would share in a kiss. Full of passion and fire. Everything she wanted to say to him, was said in the kiss itself. They moved together in synchronicity, refusing to let go of the other. Jon had held her extra tight around the wait then. He couldn’t find it in himself to let go, especially after his realization that he truly liked her. Her arms had wrapped around his neck, trying to bring him even closer to her than he already was, and he backed her up, until her back hit her apartment door. Their moment of passion was broken when they needed air, and they pulled away, panting harshly for oxygen. He rested his forehead against hers as he studied every inch of her face from a small distance and she seemed to do the same. He brought a hand up to cup her face. 

_ “You should probably get inside now.”  _ He whispered to her. 

The corner of her beautiful lips curled upwards, and she nodded, agreeing. Using his hand that cupped her face, he brought her up for one last kiss, this one not as deep and shorter, but felt the same. With one last look at him through the small space of the door, she closed it. He turned around and began walking back to his bike and ride home, his head full of many thoughts, all centered around Dany. 

Jon’s broken out of his flashbacks to Friday night when Robb peeks his head in through his opened door. “Oh, by the way, Mom wants me to tell you it’s dinner time. You’re on dish washing duty tonight.” He winks at him and closes his door. Jon rolls his eyes and groans, and begrudgingly gets himself off his bed to eat. His thoughts of Dany can wait until later. 

___

“When ever will you tell me of this boy you keep seeing Dany?” Her uncle Aemon’s question has Dany confused for a slight moment, but she relaxes when she realizes what he’s talking about. If she was being completely honest with herself, she was a bit surprised her uncle and Jon hadn’t even met yet, what with the amount of times he’s already come to her apartment to pick her up. But she supposes it might also be a little early on in their relationship to do so. 

“Jon?” Dany decides to act confused, so as to hopefully deter him. 

“Yes yes, him. Was he the boy I opened the door to the other week?” By other week, he means almost a month ago. She stops for a minute, not knowing what to tell him. Should she just come right out and say he was,  _ is,  _ her boyfriend? Or should she lie and say he was just a very close friend? Dany decides the former, knowing her uncle will easily spot her in her attempted lie. 

“He’s, well, he’s kind of my boyfriend. We haven’t been together for very long though.” 

Her uncle blindly waves off (no pun intended) her attempt to water it down, “Regardless, I would want to meet him Dany. It means little to me how long you have been together. I want to meet the boy that’s managed to get you and your heart… assuming he does have your heart?” 

His question, and his response overall, leaves her in deep thought. She knows where he’s getting at. He worries for her over these types of things,  _ matters of the heart  _ he called them. She knows he wishes for every fibre of his being that what happened to her and Drogo never happens to her again. Her uncle Aemon may be old and blind, but it doesn’t mean he won’t be or isn’t fiercely protective of her.  _ ‘Does he have your heart?’  _ Does Jon Snow have her heart? She likes him a lot, she knows that for a fact. But is it enough to say that she loves him? Perhaps not yet. Perhaps that’s a bit far from where they stand right now. Dany knows, can feel it inside herself, that what she and Jon have is something that runs deep. Maybe one day she’ll be able to put a name to it, but for now, she doesn’t think she’s ready for that step quite yet. 

“I like him a lot, uncle. And I think I trust him completely too. Is it enough that he has me?” She asks him, answering his question with one of her own. He doesn’t answer as he brings his hands together and folds them tightly in his lap, a sign that he’s thinking hard on it. 

“Maybe. I trust you my dear, I do. But I would want to get to know this boy myself, see if he truly is a good person. I only want the best for you my sweetling. Oh, how it would pain me greatly to if you were to get hurt again. I made a silent promise to your parents that I would protect you and care for you. It is a promise I fully intend to keep until I take my dying breath.” 

Dany winces at him mentioning his last words. She doesn’t like the way he speaks of it, as if his time is to come to an end much sooner than she would like. She doesn’t think nothing in this world would ever prepare her for when it may eventually come. She doesn’t even want to think of it. 

“I can talk to him, if you’d like.” She proposes. He nods at her suggestion. 

“Yes, please do. Perhaps dinner sometime, ask him if he would like to join us.”    


  
Dany frowns. Invite Jon to dinner with her and her uncle? She doesn’t know if that would be a pleasurable experience, for Jon especially. It isn’t that she fears some typical family drama will occur, and her uncle and Jon get into a big dispute. No, she worries over something else. The dinners she and her uncle share will surely not be enough for him. If what she’s gathered from him so far is correct, it would be a mere afternoon snack compared to what his family probably prepares every night. She knows Jon’s told her to not be embarrassed of anything of herself, but she can’t help it. Such insecure emotions are bound to happen when he’s the one she’s fallen for. 

“Dinner? Are you sure? If we agree to it, maybe he can just come over so you and him can talk, nothing else. I’m sure it would be a better alternative. We can invite him over for dinner once things have truly settled, and some more time passes.”  _ Assuming we’ll still be together by then.  _

“Whatever you prefer. I would just like to meet him.” Dany nods her head to herself then sighs. She and Jon will have to share a conversation on this one sooner than she would’ve thought. 

___

The harsh, loud sound of the bells ringing are a reminder that class is over, and it’s time for lunch. Jon’s waiting for Dany to finish packing her stuff, and they head out of class together and head to her locker. He pretends not to notice when she slips out the food he brought for her to eat for lunch and snacks throughout the day, not wanting to scare her off or anything. But it makes him feel happy inside to see her eating the food. 

“You should come with me for lunch today. At the table.” Jon casually suggests to her as she’s putting her books away. Dany freezes at his proposal, which causes him to stand up straighter.  _ Does she not want to?  _ She closes her locker and turns to face him, somewhat slower than she normally would. 

“You want me to have lunch with you and your friends?” She balks. Jon nods. 

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve been meaning for you to come with me for a bit now. I thought today would be a good day since Grey’s taking Missy out.” She begins to look skeptical at his idea. 

“You want me to hang out with your group of friends just because you don’t want me to be lonely? Do you pity me or something?” She sounds like she’s accusing him. This was  _ not  _ how he wanted this turn out. Jon slides his hands out of his jean pockets and holds them up. 

“What? No-I mean, yes- no, wait, no!” Jon sighs, stopping himself from stuttering anymore. What’s got her so defensive today? “Of course I don’t want you to be alone, but I’m also asking because I want you to be with me. Did you not get the part where I said I’ve been wanting to do this for a while? Dany, it’s not because I pity you.” She softens at his explanation, and he takes it as a safe sign to take her hand. 

“Okay. Sure.” She offers him a small smile and lets him hold her hand to walk to the auditorium. He doesn’t know what happened just then exactly, but he’s sure he doesn’t want another visit from the dragon any time soon. Jon almost chuckles out loud at that.  _ To call this tiny little thing a dragon.  _

When they arrive to the big building, he immediately spots his group of friends at their usual table. It’s filled with the same people as per usual; some of his football teammates, Theon, Beric, Edd, a few girls who are a constant source of flirting, and a few other people who love to sit with the popular people. It seems Dany’s taken in the table as well, as her grip on his hand tightens the way it does when she gets nervous or scared. He squeezes lightly her hand with his as a way to try and comfort her. He leads her inside, finding two empty seats for them. They sit on the table’s actual seats as opposed to a several people sitting on the table and chatting. He’s greeted by a few people, but he doesn’t press a conversation with them. Beside him, Dany’s as silent as a mouse, the food that was once in her hands now gone. 

“Did you finish eating?” Her eyes snap to his, and she pulls a lip between her teeth. Cautiously, she shakes her head, and he meets it with a confused expression. 

“I put it back. I’ll eat it later though.” 

“Why not now?”    


  
“I’m not that hungry.” 

_ That’s bull,  _ he wants to say to her. He’s willing to bet that she didn’t even eat a proper breakfast this morning, or any at all. He doesn’t understand why she’s suddenly so shy for. But as he looks around the table they’re sitting at, he notices one thing in common. Almost no one is actually eating a lunch. Maybe a handy snack here and there, or something to drink, but no proper meal, and suddenly Jon understands why she’s so shy. He realizes she doesn’t want to look like the odd one out. She doesn’t want to be the only one not talking and actually eating her food, whilst everyone else talks and chats mindlessly. Jon is suddenly annoyed at the thought of it. Lunch time was for eating and replenishing yourself, not for talking and flirting. 

“You shouldn’t pay attention to them Dany. They won’t care, just eat your food.” He’s quietly telling her to do so, but he doesn’t want to pressure her. To his dismay, she shakes her head. 

“I’ll be fine. Oh, didn’t you say your practice was cancelled after school today?”    


  
He doesn’t like how quickly she’s trying to change the subject and turn it away from her. But he decides to go along with it, because as much as he doesn’t want her to be so worried about what others might think, he would absolutely hate to be in an argument with her. 

“Yeah. Coach cancelled it today. Why?”    


  
“I wanted to talk to you about something after school. Or I wanted to ask you something. I don’t want to talk about it right now though.” 

He wants to ask her what exactly she wants to talk about and ask him and why she can’t just tell him right now. But her words process through his brain and he realizes she’s just answered his questions before he even said anything. Still, what does she want to talk about that it has to wait until after school? He should probably be worried about it, but he finds that he’s not. She doesn’t sound like it’s about something so serious, so there probably shouldn’t be anything to worry about. 

“Hey Jon.” 

He’s broken out of his little bubble with Dany at the voice of someone greeting him. He doesn’t even have to look to know who it is. The sound is burned in his mind of how annoying it is sometimes. 

“What, Theon?” 

“Okay jeez, come down. Just wanted to say hi to you. And your little lady friend here it seems. Hey aren’t you the girl that flipped out at Arianne’s party on Friday night last week? What was your name again? Danielle? Dana?”    


  
“Daenerys.” Jon answers for Dany. He bites out her name, his insides slowly beginning to heaten up at Theon’s little acts. As he looks back between Dany and Theon, Jon curses himself for being such a dumbass.  _ Why, why, why did I think it was a good idea to let Dany sit at a table where Theon was?! What the fuck were you thinking Jon?!  _ He’s shooting daggers at Theon right now, and he isn’t aware that his hands are shaking until he feels the warm, soft hands of someone else, holding onto them. He looks down at his fingers intertwined with Dany’s.  _ Gods,  _ he needs to get a grip of himself before something terrible happens.  _ Like decking Theon.  _ Now that he thinks of it though, it isn’t that terrible of a thought. 

“Daenerys. Wow, that’s a lot of syllables. I’m Theon, Jon’s best friend. So so great to meet you.” Theon sticks his hand out for Dany to shake, but Jon squeezes her hands gently but firm enough for her to take it as a sign as  _ don’t. shake. his. hand.  _ Thankfully, Dany seems to get his message and she stares at Theon instead, who retracts his hand back. “Or not, that’s cool too. Say, Jon’s never mentioned you before, how did you two meet?” 

The daggers that Jon is mentally shooting at Theon becomes something he physically wants to do. He’s all but murdering Theon with his eyes as he asks his stupid questions to his girlfriend. Theon meets his eyes and Jon takes it as the moment to give him his silent message. 

_ Back the fuck off right now.  _

Unfortunately for Theon, he doesn’t back down, and looks back at Daenerys. 

“Well, we had a class together and he sat next to me. We started talking somehow, then he asked me to be his tutor. It kinda went on from there.”    


  
Theon nods at her explanation as if it’s something he’s deeply trying to process. “So you’re Jon’s like, super hot student tutor then huh? Well, I’m proud of you Jon. I was beginning to think you’d never bounce back after Ygritte and Val. Val especially. Hey speaking of, did you put an end to your guys’ little sexting yet?” 

Next to him, Dany frowns slightly and tilts her head to look at him, and he shakes his head as a way of telling her to not believe a single word his stupid friend was saying. He lets go of her hand and stands up. “Can I talk to you Theon? Just us.” He doesn’t wait for Theon’s response as he walks around the table and heads to the boy’s bathroom.

Once they’re inside the privacy of the bathrooms, he whips his head to Theon. 

“ _ What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”  _ His voice is quiet, but in a whisper-yell kind of way. He’s absolutely seething right now. 

“I was just talking and introducin’ myself to your girlfriend Jon, jeez. No need to be so overprotective.” Theon’s face betrays his words as a smirk comes across his expressions. Jon desperately wants to land his fist right on it. 

“I’m not being-” He cuts himself off. “You can’t fucking talk to her, especially the way you’re talking.”    


  
“And what’s wrong with the way I’m talking to her?” 

“You’re going to mess everything up! Can’t you back down for one goddamn second Theon?!”    


  
“I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up over for Jon. I was simply just talking to her-”    


  
“Well don’t. You’re not talking to her anymore.”    


  
“And who let you decide who I can and can’t talk to, huh? What’s so bad about me talkin’ with your fake-girlfriend?” 

At his last words, Jon grabs Theon by the collar of his shirt and pins him against the wall. 

_ “She is not my fake-girlfriend.”  _ He whispered to him in a dangerous tone, closely to his face. 

“Oh yeah? And what is she then? Why don’t you just say you love her already, huh Snow?! What, can’t handle losing something for once?!” 

Jon raised his hand, ready to drive a hard punch to Theon’s face. He pitied Theon for not knowing when to back off something, especially as dangerous a topic as this. But he stopped himself. Right before his fist made contact with his face, Jon stopped, hesitating. He let go of Theon’s shirt, who then dropped to the ground before picking himself back up. 

“I’m not playing your fucking game anymore Theon. The next time you bring that up  _ ever again,  _ I swear to all the gods, you’ll wish you were never born. I don’t owe you a damn thing.” Jon was about to turn around and walk back when he remembered something. “ _ Stay away from her.  _ Don’t speak a word of this to anyone.”    


  
With that, he left the Greyjoy alone in the bathrooms, walking back to Dany, who looked up at him with concern etched on her face. 

“Jon? Is everything okay?” She made to stand up with him, but he shook his head for her to stay seated and took the seat next to her. 

“I’m fine. Look, about Theon, don’t believe him, okay? He’s an idiot, and a right ass sometimes. He likes whatever attention he can get, especially from girls, most probably because his parents don’t give him enough at home. Attention, I mean, not girls. Just don’t trust him.” 

She ponders his words over and nods her head, not objecting to any of it. Jon sighs a silent breath of relief as he hugs Dany, thankful for her absolute trust in him.  _ The fake trust he’s built with her.  _ Jon tries not to let the guilty clenching in his heart show as he buries his face in Dany’s hair, ignoring the people around them as they’re consumed in their own bubble. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I did originally plan on writing more to this chapter, but I decided to cut it off there and bring in the next stuff for the next chapter so that I actually have stuff to write. I have very minimal ideas on what I'm going to do on the next few chapters, so in the mean time, I split this one up into two. tell me your thoughts down in the comments below and I hope you enjoyed reading !


	12. Thought we built a dynasty that heaven couldn't shake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany and Jon discuss meeting each other's families. Dany calls Missy and begins to panic. Jon grows concerned for Dany when the happiness and peace between them ruptures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12 ! Here is y'all's chapter for the week! Next chapter will probably be out around next weekend, depending on circumstances. I also planned for this one to be longer and to add the family meetings in this one (this was all supposed to be on chapter 11) but I pushed it back. I don't have much to say (you're welcome) other than I hope you enjoy the chapter! apologies for any grammar mistakes. 
> 
> also
> 
> Is angst considered a warning? Because if it is, then you're warned.

They meet in the school parking lot after school, Dany near her car as Jon makes his way to her. Dany tries to suppress a giggle when Jon waves and smiles at her. A month and a half of being together, minus all the dates and times they spent together, and she still feels giddy whenever she sees him. Even giddier when she thinks of him as her boyfriend. Not that she has to think of it anymore; he already is. And that somehow makes her insides feel frivolous. When he reaches her, she’s greeted with a chaste kiss on the lips and a soft smile that he knows she absolutely adores. 

“Hey, sorry that took me a bit. That ‘ _ the bells don’t excuse you, I do’  _ crap teachers pull are annoying as hell.” Dany giggles at his impersonation of what’s likely his last period’s teacher’s voice, especially with his deep northern accent. His head snaps to look at her, his eyes serious. “Did you just giggle?”    


  
She looks at him, unsure for a second. “Uh, maybe. Why?”    


  
His face breaks out into a smile. “Because if you did, it’s the cutest damn thing I’ve ever heard. Don’t know that I’ve heard you giggle before.” 

In a matter of seconds, Dany goes red at the compliment. 

“Oh, don’t be so bashful.” He’s teasing her and she knows it. 

“Stop teasing me!” She playfully hits him in the arm, which has zero effect on him, as per usual. “I wanna ask you something.” 

When he doesn’t respond, and insteads looks at her, intending for her to go on probably, she continues. “How would-how would you feel about officially and formally meeting my uncle?” When he doesn’t say anything, she begins to feel slightly nervous. Was she moving too fast? Is it too early for this? Dany inwardly cursed herself for being so ahead of herself and them, feeling ashamed. But then he responds. 

“I’d love to.” She snaps her eyes to look back up at him. 

“Really? You will?”    


  
He shrugs, as if it’s no big deal. “Yeah, of course. Why not? I mean, I did kind of meet him already, but not as the guy you’re dating. Has he asked about me?” 

“He did. He said he wanted to meet you, have a talk. Maybe on Sunday?” He nods, and Dany doesn’t know why she’s so confused. Maybe she wasn’t expecting for him to go along with it that smoothly and quick. 

“There’s something I want to ask you too.” She looks at him with a raised brow, wondering what he’s going to ask. “Do you want to meet my family? Over some dinner, maybe? My siblings, they’ve been asking about you ever since Robb told them about us. I was thinking, maybe I should just tell my parents about us, and you could come over for some dinner.” 

Dany’s eyes widen at his request. Meet his family? Why would his siblings want to meet her? Wait, his parents don’t know? “You haven’t asked your parents if I could come yet?” She’s surprised that he’s asking her without the knowledge of his parents. 

“No, not yet. I’ll talk to them later tonight though. But I’m sure they’d love to have you over. Don’t worry about it.” 

It’s somewhat hypocritical of her, she knows, but she can’t help but feel a little scared at the prospect of meeting his family. Maybe it was too soon? No, it wasn’t that. She wasn’t too worried about them moving too fast and rushing through things. Jon respected her boundaries and limits and knew what to stay away from and when, and she deeply appreciated him for that. It was the fear of his family not liking her. Would they say she was too little for him, figuratively speaking? Would they say she wasn’t pretty enough? Not bold enough? Not rich enough? 

“Hey, I see those wheels turning. What’s wrong?” His voice stops her from venturing too deep inside her own mind, and she’s thankful for the distraction. 

“Are you sure your family would be okay with having me over for dinner?” She asks tentatively. Jon sighs, knowing what the problem was. He pulls her close and she relishes in his touch. 

“Dany, they’re going to love you. Once they get to know you, if they had their way, you’d be over for dinner twice a week at the least. You shouldn’t have to worry about them hating you. I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to hate you. Look, I’ll ask them tonight, and I’ll text you their response, okay?” 

His reassurance does lift some of her worries away, but not all of them. She’s still not one hundred percent sure about the whole thing, but she dismissed it as being unfair. She had just asked him to meet her uncle, and here she was balking at the idea of meeting his family. What kind of girlfriend would she be if she asked for something and gave nothing in return? 

“Okay then. Sure, I’d like to meet them as well.” 

Something in his eyes twinkle, but it’s with a certain lightness. Feeling bold, Dany decided to act on her emotions. She pulled Jon down by the neck, sealing her lips with his. She sighed contently against him and she felt him do the same, molding his lips into hers before she pulled away. Although his face didn’t physically show it, his eyes were smiling at her. She didn’t know why, but it made her feel light, shy, and weird all at the same time.  _ What was he doing to her?...  _ It was he who broke the silence first. 

“You want me to take you home?” His question was earnest, but she felt he was only asking out of kindness, so she shook her head. 

“No, it’s fine. I brought my car anyways.” She gave the top of her car a gentle pat to show him, earning her a chuckle. “Thanks for the offer though.”    


  
“No problem. I’ll text you later okay?” She nodded, and he left her with a peck on the lips, knowing full well that if he went any longer with it, he wouldn’t be able to leave for quite some time. Dany went inside her car, and once she was safely inside the safety of her vehicle, she whipped her phone out, scrolling through contacts until she found who she needed to contact. Her phone rang a few times before it connected. 

“Hey, Missy? I really need to talk to you. Do you think you can stop by?” 

___

Dinner has just been served at the Starks’ house and everyone’s digging into their hot meals as Jon sits and ponders whether he should ask his parents now. He decides he probably should so as to not make it a conversation deeper than what it should be. He clears his throat first. 

“Uh, Mom, Dad?” 

He successfully gets his parents attention, who look up at him from their plates. He also gets a side look from Robb, who returns his attentions back to the delicious pile of baked potatoes on his plate. He ignores how nervous he is suddenly and goes for it. 

“I wanted to ask you guys something.” He’s met with silence that tells him he should probably keep going. “I wanted to ask if you, uh, maybe wanted to meet my girlfriend over dinner some time?” 

Jon turns his face so that he can only see his parents’ faces, and not the faces of his siblings’, whom he knows are judging him horrendously right now. It’s his mother who asks first. 

“You have a girlfriend? Since when did this happen?”    
  
Jon is about to take her question as a diss when he remembers that they knew about him and Ygritte. Luckily, they only met Ygritte when he and her were just innocent teenagers dating.  _ Good thing they didn’t really know of Val…  _

“Uh, yeah I do. We started dating about a month and a half ago.”    


  
“And you want us to meet her?” His father’s deep voice is free of judgement, but it makes Jon feel insecure all the same. Ned Stark may be a kind and honourable man, but he could be quite frightening when need be. Swallowing his fear, Jon nodded. 

“Yes, I do. It doesn’t matter to me that we haven’t been together for very long. I think you’ll really like her.” 

He doesn’t get any type of response, but he knows his parents are discussing it through their eye contact. 

“We’ll decide for ourselves whether that’s the case then.” His mother tells him. 

“So that’s a yes?”    


  
“Yes Jon. We’ll meet her. But only because we want to see what kind of influence she is to you. If we find her to not be a good one, then you know what we’re going to ask of you.”    


  
Jon nods quickly but he isn’t at all worried. Dany was absolutely perfect. He trusted she would be great, maybe a bit shy and quiet, but great nonetheless. “When do you think she can come?” 

“Since your game’s on Thursday, how about Friday night? You can come home and help us fix up dinner, she can come around 6 o’clock. How does that sound?”    


  
“It sounds great. I’ll text her about it.”    


  
His mother and father share a smile that he doesn’t notice as he turns back to his face, gobbling it all up in a hurry to text Dany of the good news. For a second, he stopped. He tried not to think about it, but her meeting his family signified them as a serious couple. Yes, they were only in high school, but to Jon, it didn’t define their relationship. But meeting your significant other’s parents is certainly quite a big step to take. Were they ready for that kind of step? Jon wanted to say yes. He had ended the bet with Theon. He and Dany were free to just be with each other in peace now, and he wanted to do what he could to make this relationship work. He wanted to forget that he ever agreed to such a ridiculous game. If it were up to him, Dany would never find out about any of it and they would continue being with each other. Maybe they’d even last through college and have a future together. The prospect of it made Jon long for it. But first, they’d have to get through this part of their lives before anything else. 

___   
  
“Okay, so you’re telling me you and Jon talked about meeting each other’s families?”    


  
Dany nodded at Missy’s incredulous question. True to her word, Missy came to her place just after Dany arrived to her and Dany told her the entire conversation she and Jon shared earlier. “Yeah. He wants me to come over and meet them over dinner. But the thing is, he hasn’t even told them about me yet. They don’t know we’re dating. Missy, what if they hate me? What if they think I’m not good enough?” Dany voices her concern and doubt out loud to her friend. 

“Oh hush that nonsense Daenerys. They’ll love you, okay? I mean, who wouldn’t? You’re absolutely perfect. You can’t do anything to give them cause to hate you. I mean, you could throw their food on the ground, insult their house and dance on their table, but that isn’t something you would ever do. So you’re fine. I’m sure Jon’s told you all this too.” 

Dany nodded hesitantly, a little bit of her pride not wanting to prove Missy right, even though she was. All the time. At that moment, her phone dinged, indicating a new message. 

**Jon:** _ Hey, parents said yes! You can come over on Friday around 6 pm :) _

Dany’s heart began beating quicker in its place at the message. She didn’t know whether to be excited that his parents had allowed him to let her come over, or scared at meeting them. 

“Is that Jon?”    


  
Dany looked up to find Missy trying to peer over at her phone and see what it said. 

“Yeah. His parents said yes. I’m meeting them this Friday at 6.”    


  
Missy gave a small clap. “Good for you then Dany. You’ll be great, I already know it.”    


  
Dany however, was not as confident as her friend was in her. “I don’t know Missy. Maybe I have nothing to scared of. But what if they think I don’t deserve to be with him? They’ll find out about my parents, and Drogo, and how I’m practically homeless compared to Jon, who has everything. What if they met Jon’s exes? Ygritte and Val? Missy, I’ve seen them before, before they moved. They’re so much prettier than me. And I’m pretty sure they had more money than me. They could actually afford to buy stuff for him, like presents and stuff.  _ Gods,  _ what if they make us break up. Missy, I really like Jon, I don’t know what I’d do if-”    


  
“Dany, may I see your phone?” Missy calmly interrupted Dany’s rant. Confused, Dany handed her phone over. She couldn’t see what Missy was doing with it, but she looked like she was typing something from Dany’s phone into her own phone. She calmly returned Dany’s phone back to her then turned to her own, typing something in. She pressed something, then clicked her phone off, smiling innocently at Dany, who narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion. 

“Missy, what did you do?”    


  
“Nothing.” Right after the word left her mouth, Missy’s phone rang with a notification, and she and Dany both looked down at it. 

“Wh- is that Jon? Why are you texting Jon? Missy, give me-” Dany reached over to grab it from Missy’s hand, who pulled away, pushing Dany’s hand away so that she could read the text. “Missy what did you say to him?!” Missandei was laughing now at Dany’s desperation to see what she had told her boyfriend. 

“Okay okay, calm down Dany, here.” Missy turned her phone around so that Dany could read the messages. 

**Missy:** _ Hey Jon, it’s Missandei, Dany’s friend. I stole your number from her phone. She called me over to her place to talk about your guys’ little conversation earlier about meeting your ‘parentals’. She’s been going on a rant to me now and I think she should hear personally from you that she has nothing to worry about because I know she won’t listen to me, no matter what I say. I don’t know where she got the idea from, but she’s now comparing herself to Ygritte and Val. PLEASE help her (and me for the sake of my sanity) and do your little magic that seems to work for you both.  _

**Jon:** _ What?? I’ll call her.  _

“Missy, how could you?!” Dany told her off accusingly, who only gave her an innocent smile again. Seconds later, Dany’s phone rang, and they both knew who it was that was calling. Dany shot Missy a dirty look before picking up her phone. 

“Jon? Hey-”    


  
_ “Dany, is everything alright? Missy texted me what’s going on. I thought we already talked about this?”  _ _   
_

_   
_ _ “ _ Everything’s fine Jon.” Dany looked to Missy and scowled at her. “I’m fine, I promise.”    


  
_ “Dany, I’m going to drive over there if you don’t-”  _ _   
_

_   
_ _ “ _ No, no, no need to drive here Jon. Like I said, everything’s just fine and dandy over here. Missy’s just exaggerating everything.” In her peripheral vision, Dany could see Missy pretending to be offended at her comment, which she rolled her eyes at. 

_ “So you’re  _ not  _ comparing yourself to my exes? Dany I feel like we should talk about this in person.”  _ _   
_

_   
_ “Jon, please, I’m telling you, I’m fine, everything’s fine, I’m not doing anything. I don’t need you to drive all the way over here. Thanks for your concern but I’m okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye.” With that, Dany ended the call and silenced her phone, not wanting to get anymore notifications. Dany didn’t want to look at Missy, in fear of the disappointment she’d see in her eyes. 

“Why do you do that?” Missy’s voice was still calm and steady. It was a trait that Dany secretly envied of her friend. The ability to stay calm in situations that would cause panic. Even if this wasn’t exactly an emergency situation. 

“Do what?” She still didn’t look at her, focusing on the little imaginary details on the carpeted floor instead. 

“Nevermind. Look, I still feel like you should talk to Jon. If you’re really worried, then maybe it isn’t time yet for you guys to take that next step. But you have to communicate with him Dany. That’s how relationships work. If you’re not ready, then tell him.”    


  
“But I  _ am  _ ready, Missy. I’m just scared.” 

“Then tell him. I know it seems hard at first, but you have to learn to communicate with him Dany. Especially if you want things to work out well between you two. I love that you trust me enough to come to me with this stuff, but you have to talk to Jon first if it’s about you two. He’s a big part of your life now and assuming you chose well, he’ll help you overcome these obstacles. But you have to open up just a little bit more.” 

Dany thought over her wise words. It seems like such a hard thing to do. Communication was never one of her stronger suits, as if it wasn’t obvious enough. She’d rather stay quiet and let something happen, even if she didn’t want it to, then speak up for herself.  _ Open up a little bit more.  _ Hadn’t she already done that? She’d already told Jon everything that haunted her (from her past). How much more must she pry herself open to? How much more could she handle without breaking herself? 

She understood then that Missy was right (when was she not?). It certainly took a great deal of trust to open up to Jon about her family and past traumas, but it was a completely different thing to tell him what it is she wants out of this relationship and what she needs. But what if he judged her? He’d dated Ygritte and Val before, and they were once among the top girls in the school in the looks and financial status category. He’s been with other girls that were far above her personal standing. Did they ever have their limits? Did they ever tell him their personal standings in the relationship? Dany was pretty sure they didn’t. Those types of girls were not the type to be scared of something. 

Suddenly, Dany felt like crying. She wanted to stop worrying so much over every single little thing. She wanted to stop over thinking every single ‘what-if’ that came to her mind. She wanted to stop comparing herself to the girls Jon’s been with. She wanted to be enough for Jon. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be enough for him, not when she was far from enough for herself. 

_ He chose you didn’t he? You’re the one he’s dating. He could’ve gone for Arianne or Alys. They’re clearly interested in him. But he chose you. How many times now has he ignored every girl that’s flirted with him and looked at you instead?  _

The other voice in Dany’s head (or was it her heart?) told her. The same voice that told her to stop thinking and go for it. She’s been happy with Jon, so happy. He made her laugh, smile,  _ giggle _ even. He’s made her feel bubbly and light inside. He’s comforted her when she reminisced the past. He held her and told her everything was going to be okay when she had panicked and broken down on the floor. He cared for her in ways that others couldn’t hold a candle to, not even Missy. How could she possibly doubt him? It wasn’t fair of her to. It wasn’t fair of her to be so distrustful, though she knew trust shouldn’t be given out because she felt like she’s been unfair.  _ He deserves everything,  _ Dany thinks. Maybe she can’t give him everything, but she can give him herself. It seemed to him, that it was enough. 

But Dany knew however many times she talked to herself in her own mind, the negativity and doubt would never truly leave until she and Jon sat down and truly talked every single little thing out. Maybe not now, but eventually. She was definitely going to have to apologize to him tomorrow for hanging up on him like she had. 

“Since I’m already here, can we just order some pizza and have it delivered here? I’ll leave after. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty hungry right now.” 

Dany was interrupted from her depressive thoughts at Missy’s statement. She welcomed the distraction though. She’d probably be up quite late again tonight, but she wanted to stop worrying over it for the meantime. 

“I don’t think I have any spare change-”    


  
“I do. What kind of pizza do you want?” Missy was already scrolling through her phone to order something. “I think I’ll get the combo one.”    


  
“Uh, the regular cheese is fine.”    


  
Missy made a face. “Really? That’s kinda boring, but okay. Do you think your uncle wants his own?” 

Dany shook her head. “Uncle Aemon can just share with me. I’m not that hungry anyways.” 

Missy nodded and tapped into her phone to place their orders, and before she knew it, the order had been sent and the pizza was on its way. 

“I can pay you back-” 

“No. I don’t want your money. Keep it Dany.” Missy brushed her off. 

Dany sighed. Why couldn’t she just understand that Dany felt bad for always having other people pay for her? Missy would be the one to pay for the food they had delivered to Dany’s apartment and she would even bring snacks when she visited Dany’s place and leave it there purposefully if they didn’t finish it. Jon would always take her out for lunch and sometimes dinner and pay for their meals. If they didn’t go out for lunch, then he’d make it a point to make her lunch at his house and bring it to school for her. Dany just wanted to be able to do something kind for someone back. Now that wasn’t to say she wasn’t thankful for what they’ve been doing for her. She was completely grateful for it and for them, She just wanted to be able to return the favor.  _ Maybe in the future one day.  _ Nothing could ever amount the gratefulness Dany feels for Missy and Jon’s kindness and care for her. 

___   
  
The next morning found Jon at his locker grabbing a few things that he’ll need for his next classes and shoving them into his backpack. 

“Jon.”    
  
He turned around at the voice that called his name behind him. When he turned, he was slightly surprised to see Dany standing there in front of him. Now, his girlfriend was an absolute gorgeous angel, but at that moment, she looked as if she had wrestled with a dragon or something. Her hair was disheveled in a messy bun that had strands of hair poking out from it. Her eyes had heavy, dark bags underneath them, as if she hadn’t slept in weeks. Didn’t he see her just yesterday? What could possibly have happened between the time he hadn’t seen her.  _ Unless this was about what Missandei texted me…  _   


  
“Dany? Are you okay?” 

Instead of a response, she flung herself at him and pulled him in an embrace, nuzzling her face into his chest. He tentatively returned the embrace, but then pulled her away far enough to see her face. 

“What’s wrong?” His voice was full of concern. 

“Nothing. I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”    


  
“For what?” 

  
“For hanging up on you like that. That was rude of me. I shouldn’t have done that.”    


  
He remembered then what she was talking about. When Missandei had texted him about Dany, he was immediately concerned for her. He knew she would be a bit nervous, but for her to bring up his exes and start comparing? He needed to have a talk with her about it. When she’d hung up on him, he was confused and slightly hurt. Why couldn’t she just tell him what was bothering her so much, instead of brushing him off? 

“Dany, you don’t need to apologize for anything. You didn’t do anything wrong.”    


  
“But-” Jon sensed her argument coming on.    


  
“Okay, then I forgive you. See? You’re forgiven, now stop being sorry.” 

She shut her mouth and looked at him. It reminded him of his confusion and concern at her physical state. 

“You didn’t answer my question, is everything okay? You look like you fought a bear.”    


  
“Do I look that bad?” She sounded meek and scared, and Jon immediately regretted his choice of words. 

“What? No-no, you don’t. I meant, you look exhausted. Did you get any sleep at all.” 

She stared at the center of his chest blankly as if something was there. “Hm, some.” She sounded tired too. 

“What happened?” 

“I just couldn’t sleep, is all.” Her last two words were distorted with a yawn that she covered with her mouth. Jon however, knew that wasn't the case. 

“Dany.” He said her name pointedly. 

“Yes?” She drew out the word. 

“Talk to me.”    


  
“I am talking to you.” Jon suppressed a chuckle over how adorable she was being right now, despite her state. 

“You know that’s not what I meant.” 

“Then what  _ do you  _ mean?” 

“What kept you up last night?” She was silent then, but her eyes were half closed, so Jon didn’t know if she was falling asleep on him or just didn’t want to answer his question. But he guessed it was the latter when she did answer it. 

“I was thinking.”    


  
“You were thinking? Thinking about what?”    


  
“Stuff.” She turned away then and started walking to her own locker. Jon walked quickly to meet up by her side. 

“What kind of stuff?”    


  
“Stuff you don’t need to worry about.” Once they made it to her locker, Jon sighed. He didn’t understand why she was being so difficult right now. 

“Why can’t you just talk to me? Dany, I’m here for you. I’m here to listen to your problems. I’m here to help. But I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.” 

“I don’t want to talk about it right now Jon.”    


  
“Then when?” Jon was growing exasperated. “When will you want to talk about this? I’ve been ignoring it because I knew you’d get like this, but you’ve been like this for a while now Dany. You look like you haven’t known sleep in years, then you go and tell Missandei all of your problems that relate to me, but as soon as I call and ask you what’s wrong, you lie and hang up on me. Dany, I understand that things are hard for you, but can’t you just take into consideration how I feel too? I’m your boyfriend, and yet you keep pushing me away. It hurts, you know? Please, I’m asking you to stop being difficult and talk to me for once.” 

He looked at her after his little rant. She stopped grabbing her books and was just staring off into her locker, but he knew she was listening to him. 

“So me telling you about my past isn’t enough for you?”    


  
Jon squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled, completely aware of what he had just started.  _ No going back now.  _

“You know that’s not what I meant.”    


  
“Then what do you mean Jon?!”    


  
He was startled by her sudden outburst. He looked around to see if anyone had heard her, but fortunately they don’t seem to have anyone’s attention. 

“I just want you to stop pushing me away.”    


  
“I can’t! I don’t know what you want from me anymore. I’m trying to give you what I can, but I can’t give you everything. I’ve opened myself up for you in ways that I could never do with anybody else. And yet you still want more! Am I not enough for you? Or do you have to know every single thing I do? You’re just like Drogo! First you start off all nice and kind, then you just demand I tell you everything I’m doing and thinking. When is enough for you Jon? Do you want me to tell you everything on a nice little note attached to an expensive gift for you? Because if so, then I guess you’ll have to find a different girlfriend because I can’t do that! I’m sorry that I hurt you but I just can’t. I’m sorry that you go out of your way to care for me and I can’t even buy you a lunch in return. I’m sorry that I can’t get you nice and expensive gifts to show my gratitude to you. I’m sorry that I look like this and make you look like an embarrassment when I stand next to you. I’m sorry that I’m not as pretty as Ygritte or Val-”    


  
“Dany stop.” He couldn’t listen to this anymore.    


  
“I’m sorry I’m not like them. That I’m too short, too wide, not pretty enough, poor. I’m sorry I’m not your type-”    


  
“Daenerys, stop it.” He bit out the words.  _ Please stop, gods, please, stop it Dany.  _ Yet she didn’t stop, even as her eyes began filling with tears.  _ No, don’t cry, please don’t cry.  _

“I’m sorry I’m not enough for you. Why are you with me Jon? You could have had Arianne or somebody else. I’ve seen you with her before, I’m not blind. I’ve seen you walk out of the janitor’s closet with her before. You should have stayed with her. Maybe she would have been able to offer you something better. I can’t give you what you want Jon.”    


  
_ “Enough, Dany!”  _ He didn’t yell exactly, but he raised his voice loud enough for her to stop talking and flinch. “Stop. Please, stop. I can’t take it anymore.” 

Her words had cut him deep. It had hurt that she compared him to her abusive ex. Did she really see him that way? Jon wanted to believe he was doing his best to be a good boyfriend to her, but maybe he really wasn’t. It hurt him even more when she started apologizing for all the things she should  _ never  _ have to apologize for. Was this what Missandei meant about her comparing herself to his exes? How could a girl like want to compare herself to anyone? Does she truly think another girl could amount to the way he felt for her? Does she truly think he only cares for expensive gifts and pretty girls with good bodies?  _ This is all my fault, not hers,  _ he thinks. He must’ve done something to cause her to think this way. Or he must have not done enough to stop these thoughts from ever entering her mind. 

It comes with a sudden rush that he regrets everything he’s done prior to meeting Dany. He regrets his actions with other girls. He regrets his social status in school with all the other students. He regrets agreeing to the bet with Theon when he realizes that everything they’ve built with each other is built on a lie. No matter what good comes out of it, it would always be rooted back a game he wanted to play.  _ Some stupid, fucking game.  _ How could he ever think that being with her was worth a mere $200? She was a million diamonds worth inside one person. He wants to go back in time and stop himself from shaking Theon’s hand, or from listening to Theon’s suggestion at all. 

He comes back to the present and reality, and in front of him, Dany is staring at the floor, but he isn’t blind to the tears that are falling from her eyes. He takes a step forward to her, but he winces when she steps away from him. He doesn’t want to talk to her from this distance, but he will. 

“Dany-”    


  
“You yelled.” 

He stops and looks at her, not sure what she’s talking about, when it dawns at him. He remembers that he raised his voice at her, but he didn’t yell, did he? He just wanted her to stop, and saying it normally wouldn’t make her. What else was he supposed to do?    
  


“I didn’t yell. I just wanted you to stop.”    


  
“You could have said.”    


  
“I did! I told you stop and yet you kept going. Dany please, let’s just talk this out.”    


  
“There’s nothing left to talk about.” She picked up her backpack that fell to the ground at some point and put it on her back.  _ No.  _

“Dany, don’t be like this-” She made to walk away past him, but he took her by the arm to stop her.  _ A wrong move.  _ She froze, her eyes fixed on the hand that was restraining her from walking away. He saw her chest beginning to rise and fall quicker than it should be when breathing normally and he felt her arm begin to shake in his hand. Quickly, he let go, but stepped in front of her to stop her from walking away. “I’m sorry. Dany, I’m sorry but please, let’s just talk. I just wanna talk.”    


  
“No! I don’t want to talk anymore Jon, not with you. I’m done talking.”    


  
With that, she left, walking away from him. Jon was still in some sort of daze, trying to process everything that had happened in the past ten minutes. Did she just break up with him? Jon’s blood ran cold, and he could feel all the hairs on the back of his neck standing up rigidly. No, they needed to talk. They were not done until they talked. He wouldn’t let her walk away from him thinking she wasn’t enough for him. He understood now what she had been up all night thinking about now. He understood everything that was plaguing her mind now, and he wasn’t going to stop until she put in her head and believed she was more than worthy and deserving of everything good in this world. But he knew she wouldn’t talk to him at school. She’ll just walk away from him or ignore him. So he’ll visit her place tomorrow, and he wouldn’t leave until she was his again or they talked everything out. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They'll get back together I promise!! I felt that they needed to break a bit before getting better again. Dany will always have that small bit of insecurity with her because as we all know, insecurities never truly just disappear. And Dany is extremely insecure of herself here. Don't worry, the next chapter will be full of fluff and apologies and healing and all that jazz, plus the family meeting! And maybe a startling realization ;) I dunno, you're going to have stick with me to find out.


	13. Everything I hold dear resides in those eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon apologizes to Dany and they have a discussion that's long overdue. Dany finally meets Jon's family, where Jon is left with a (un)surprising realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter... this was something else. I didn't think I would be able to beat chapter 10's word count of 12000, but here I present to you chapter 13's 15,500 word count. That might not seem like a lot to some of you, but this was especially time consuming to write. I'm not completely 100% on this chapter. There are definitely specific places where I could still elaborate a little bit more of, but dear gods, I need a small break after writing this one. 
> 
> I've recently bought the 'Me Before You' trilogy, so I'm still trying to work out how to balance my time between school, homework, reading the books and writing this. Oh and also reading a different book that I've just been assigned in class for the next months or so. 
> 
> There's going to be a crap ton of mistake sin this thing no matter how many times it's been viewed by google doc's spelling and grammar check tool thingy so sorry for that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter more than I did :)

_ Why is this scarier than it should? It should not be this daunting. Just knock on the door, talk to her, apologize for everything. If she still doesn’t want you, then walk away and cry at home,  _ not  _ in her apartment. If she somehow decides to take you back, make sure you’re just as perfect for her as she is for you.  _

It’s the mantra that Jon repeats several times in his head as he stands in front of Daenerys’ apartment door. He’s raised his hand to knock several times already, but each time he dropped them, scared of what might meet him on the other side. 

_ What are you so scared of? It’s not like she’s going to kill you, for gods’ sakes Jon!  _

Maybe not literally. 

Jon took one last deep breath in and out, raised his left hand, and knocked on the door. Then he withdrew his hand back and stood, waiting.  _ One, two, three, four, five  _ long seconds passed with no answer. Maybe she’s not at home? No, of course she’d be at home. Where else would she go? Maybe she knew it was him and decided to ignore him? That seemed like a much more plausible and reasonable answer. Jon was about ready to leave when he heard the door unlocking from the other side. The door opened, and behind it revealed his angelic, fairy-like girlfriend.  _ Or was it ex girlfriend?  _ Jon shuddered; he didn’t want to think they were over, not quite yet. When it became clear she would not say anything to him, he decided to speak up. 

“Dany, hey.” 

He flashed a grin at her, but she stared at him blankly.  _ She’s still mad, okay.  _ He didn’t know what else to say as they stood there staring each other off. Jon gulped the knot in his throat down. 

“Can I uh come inside please?” 

She only stared at him again for what felt like forever, until she stepped aside and opened the door for him, even if it was just an inch or two that she moved. He awkwardly walked inside past her. They were in her living room now, and she had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at him. It shouldn’t have been as daunting as it was. 

“Listen-” He started. 

“What are you doing here?” Her voice wasn’t as cold and distant as it was yesterday when they argued as he expected it would be, but it held no warmth for him either. 

“I think you know why I’m here. You’ve been avoiding and ignoring me. We can’t just let whatever happened stay that way. So I decided to come here so that you wouldn’t be able to ignore me anymore. I was going to come yesterday, but I was busy after school.”

Her arms were stilled crossed over her, almost defensively as she stared up at him, her eyes empty. “What if I don’t want to talk?”    


  
“Then you’ll sit there and listen to what I have to say and not have to say a thing. Just think and process what I’m saying.” 

She focused her attention to the ground, thinking about it. Then she looked up, not at him, but towards the little hallway of doors. “In my room then. My uncle’s sleeping, I don’t want to wake him.” 

Jon nodded his head quickly. He was just excited (was that the right word to describe this situation?) that Dany would actually sit down and listen to him and he wouldn’t have to worry about her walking away in the middle of it. This was his chance to fix his mistakes and clear any and all doubt from her mind about him and their relationship. Maybe they would even come out stronger together after this. He could only look forward. 

___   
  
Once they reached her bedroom and were inside, Dany closed the door behind her to avoid too much noise from disturbing her sleeping uncle. She turned around and she found him scanning her bedroom. Dany suddenly went pink under his gazes at her room, though this was not an appropriate moment to do so. She was grateful then she’d decided to clean her room and tidy up a bit earlier. 

“Looks nice.” He complimented. Normally, Dany would blush at his compliment, but instead, she felt indifference. He was probably only saying that to get on her good side. Her room was likely the size of his bathroom at home. He probably felt like a dog inside a small house in her room. Dany didn’t say anything, instead going to her bed and sitting on the edge of it, waiting for him to say whatever he came here to say. 

She wasn’t stupid, she knew what he wanted to talk about. In truth, after she left him yesterday morning, she’d been so miserable all day yesterday and all day at school today. She cried herself to sleep last night, or this morning more like, as she had fallen asleep at yet another ungodly hour of the night. She wanted to call him and just throw up all her apologies, but she refrained from doing so, her pride getting the best of her. She’d wanted nothing more than for him to come and hold her in his arms and tell her they were going to be okay. Because truthfully, she felt that she just ruined her and Jon’s relationship. She walked away thinking she had just broken up with him and that thought stung her hard and deep. She prayed to the gods that she didn’t really pray to anymore that they could salvage what she had broken. She doesn’t know what she’d do if they were done forever, all because of her. 

He sighed and held eye contact with her. For some odd reason, she was able to tell that he probably felt like a nervous wreck inside as he looked at her. 

“I wanna start off by apologizing.” 

_ For what?!  _ She wanted to scream out to him, but she stopped herself. She would listen to everything he had to say first before she said anything.

“For everything. That seems really vague but it’s true. I’m sorry that you felt the way you have recently. That you’ve been so insecure and full of doubts about me, about us. It’s my fault for not doing enough to stop such thoughts from coming into your mind like that. I’m sorry that you believe that I only care about girls who are rich and have good bodies. I’m sorry that you felt you had to compare yourself to people as low as Ygritte and Val. They could never compare to you Dany. I guess I want to start explaining there. Truth is, Dany, you’re nothing like them. You’re the farthest a person could be from them. I don’t know why you would bother comparing when there’s nothing to compare yourself to.”    


  
_ What the fuck?  _ Wasn’t he supposed to be apologizing? From the sound of it, Dany felt like he was insulting her more than trying to make her feel better. 

“There’s nothing to compare because you are so much better.  _ So much  _ better than they could ever hope to be. You might think I’m only lying to you to make you feel better, but this is all true. Dany, you don’t realize it but I see you as an absolute angel. You’re absolutely fucking perfect to me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I don’t think I’ve ever seen a heart as pure and good as yours. I could call you beautiful all day long but it’s your heart that truly attracts me to you. Okay, you’re good and kind, and selfless. You’re so selfless that sometimes it annoys me how you won’t put your own needs first. Your hair might be more silver than blonde, but your heart is absolute gold, diamond even. 

“You’re not too short, or too wide or,  _ gods forbid,  _ not pretty enough. You shouldn’t be insecure about your height because I think it’s perfect for you. You don’t need to be taller to be prettier. And you are  _ not  _ too wide. I don’t even know where you got that idea from. Dany, I take you out for food and pack you lunches and snacks because I know you don’t eat nearly enough as much as you should. I don’t even know where to begin with you thinking you’re not pretty enough. You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever met, and I thought it was impossible that I’ve never seen someone like you around before. I didn’t even know your name and yet something inside me told me that you were different from everybody else. A good different.” 

Dany was resisting with every centimetre of her body to succumb to Jon’s words. She desperately told herself that he was just lying to make her feel better. If she believed him, she would only get more hurt in the end. But it was difficult to do so when he sounded so  _ genuine _ . She could feel every ounce of sincerity in his words and she didn’t know whether it was a good thing or not. 

“I’m sorry for not realizing sooner my mistakes. Believe me the last thing I would ever want is to see you hurt. Especially because of me. You’ve been through enough shit in your life, I don’t want to add to it. I really wish you’d talk to me about how you felt. I want us to be completely open to each other. By open with each other, I mean I want us to be comfortable talking to the other about how we feel. If you think you’re not ready, then  _ tell me.  _ If you’re scared, tell me. I want to help you, I really do. But you gotta talk to me Dany.”    


  
With every word he spoke, Jon was sounding more and more like Missy. In fact, he was practically  _ copying  _ her words! Dany briefly wondered whether he and Missy shared a mind or something when it came to her. Her cold demeanor towards him melted and softened, and she was left to a puddle of guilt and remorse for her own actions and she wanted to interrupt Jon and apologize for how she messed up. But she continued listening. 

“I guess I’ll have to start first. It hurt, a lot, to hear you compare to Drogo the way you did. I’m not trying to accuse you or start pointing fingers, but it definitely stung. I’m so,  _ so  _ sorry for yelling at you and grabbing you like that, but I didn’t do it to hurt you. I would never want to hurt you. I want to believe that I may not be a ‘golden boy’ but at the very least, I’m better than Drogo. That’s what I want to believe. I want to believe that I’ve been treating you better than he did. Not because I want to be better than him for the sake of competition, but because you deserve it. I want to be the one who can give you what you deserve. But if you truly think I’m starting to act like Drogo, then tell me. I don’t want to hurt you like that.”    


  
Seeing the raw truth shining in his eyes, Dany felt her own begin to water. She suddenly regretted all the words she’d spoken to him out of impulse. She already regretted them, but she regretted comparing Jon to Drogo the most. She was exhausted, angry, and upset. She hadn’t been thinking straight when she went up to Jon. It was a terrible excuse, she knew. But it was all she could come up with. She decided then that it was her turn to speak to him, the silence between them growing unbearable. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said to you. You didn’t deserve those words. You’re the sweetest guy I’ve ever met Jon. Granted, I don’t very many, but it doesn’t matter. I meant what I said to you before; you seem like a hardened guy but if what you’re saying is true, about me having a good heart, then that makes your heart just as good.” She pinched her lips together when she saw him begin to shake his head at her last statement, but he didn’t say anything, so she continued. 

“I shouldn’t have compared you to Drogo. I don’t know what went on in my brain that led me to think it was okay to say that to you. You’re nothing like him. You are nowhere near abusive, not to me, Jon. You have every right to ask me what’s wrong when you know that something is. You’ve been nothing but good, kind, and above all, patient with me, and for that I could not thank you enough.” She stopped, the overwhelming urge to just start crying on the floor flooding her senses, but she prevented herself from curling up into a ball just yet.

“ _ I’m sorry if I ruined our relationship.”  _ She whispered, though it was so quiet and soft that she wasn’t sure he heard it. The room was relatively quiet though, so he did pick up on it. She scooted back a little more on her bed to bring her knees up to her chest and hugging them close, her eyes trained on the carpeted floor. She heard him sigh, but it didn’t seem to be out of frustration. She watched as his feet took a few steps forward towards her, when she felt a dip on her mattress next to her. Her head moved the slightest bit to acknowledge his presence next to her, but did not look at him completely. A moment later, she felt a warm hand make its way around her waist and she was being pulled in closer. She couldn’t stop the natural instinct that came upon her to rest her head on his shoulders. The arm around her held her tightly close, gently caressing her side. 

“You didn’t ruin anything Dany.”    


  
Hearing his deep voice paired with his northern burr warmed her thoroughly inside. The past day and a half she’d gone without hearing him talk specifically to her made her miserable. The sleep she’d lost staying up so late throwing pity parties for herself were catching up to her, and she wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep in his arms right then and there. 

“It feels like I did.” She murmured to him, her eyes briefly shutting close at his gentle caresses. 

“Well you didn’t. If I’m being honest, I’m kind of glad it happened. Not because I wanted either of us to get hurt, but because we needed to release all that pent up frustration. It was a good opportunity to say the words that would otherwise never be said. Now we both know what we need to work on. For you to stop doubting every single thing so much and open up more to me, and for me to try harder to help you and be more honest.” He paused and exhaled a deep gust of air. “I’m sorry I yelled at you and grabbed you like I did. That was..  _ awful  _ of me to do. You understand I would never do that to you, right?”    


  
Dany nodded. In the moment when he had grabbed her, she panicked. Her head flashed back to when it was Drogo’s hand gripping her wrist. Jon hadn’t even grabbed her hard or roughly, his grip just ever so slightly firmer than what it usually was. 

“I know you wouldn’t. I can’t ever imagine you doing something like that.” 

He nodded, relieved to hear her understanding. It seemed like he didn’t know what to say to continue, but Dany however, still had more to say. 

“I don’t know why I thought it would be an okay idea to bring up the girls you’ve been with. It was wrong of me to. I guess I just got really insecure about things when you confirmed the dinner with your family. Sometimes it still boggles my mind that you’ve willingly chosen to date me. I keep thinking that this is all some sort of dream, that one day I’ll wake up and I’ll find you making out with Arianne Martell and that you’ve realized I’m not good enough for you anymore and you deserve someone better. Or that this is all just some cruel prank and that you don’t actually want to be with me. Sometimes I dream about it too.” 

Next to her, she felt Jon flinch, his hand that had been at her side had stopped. She lifted her head and frowned in confusion at his sudden reaction. 

“What? Is something wrong?”    


  
He immediately shook his head, his face and body returning to normal again. She frowned again, but decided to leave it alone, resting her head back on his shoulder. There were much more important things to be discussed at the moment. It was a few beats before Jon said something. 

“I guess I know what I should do every morning now.” She looked up at him, her eyebrows pinched together. He gave her a knowing grin. “I’ll send you a good morning text before you wake up.” He smirked playfully at her. 

“No, stop. You don’t need to.” She clicked her tongue, but a small part of her certainly did not have a problem with the suggestion. 

“I’ll do as I please, thank you very much.” 

She huffed out a laugh, rolling her eyes light heartedly. 

“But in all seriousness, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring up my exes, but it helped me understand what most of the problem was. And I’ve already addressed that I think you’re perfect to me. I’ll make sure all of the seven hells freeze over before you wake up and find me making out with Arianne Martell on a random day. And you  _ are  _ someone better Dany. If I had to wish for one thing, I hope that one day, all the words that I’ve said to you today stick in your mind and you actually start to believe them. Because they’re all true.” 

She searched his eyes, his beautiful dark grey eyes that she found herself getting lost in everyday. She searched for any sign of a lie in them, a twitch, any uncertainty, uncomfortability, anything to show that he was lying to her. But there, she only found raw truth in them. Not a single lie in them. What was she expecting? He’d never lied to her before, and he wouldn’t do so now. 

Her heart beat erratically for an unknown reason, and suddenly she didn’t want to do much talking with him. She felt something strong pull her closer to him and it wasn’t something that she could resist. They were done talking, anything else that needed to be said could wait another day. It seemed he was thinking the same as her, and she found both their faces a mere inch apart from each other. 

_ “Jon.”  _ She breathed out against his mouth. He responded by closing the gap between, capturing her lips in what could only be called a passionate kiss. He leaned forward closer to her, but before she could deepen it, he pulled away. He didn’t pull back all the way, his face still ever so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath against hers. 

_ “I don’t care that you aren’t rich. I don’t care that you can’t pay me back. I don’t care about money. You’re beautiful, you’re not an embarrassment. You’re an angel to me and you’re mine.”  _

She didn’t have time to question him when he closed the distance between them again, gentle at first, then quick and heated. His hand that had been around her waist helped guide her to position so that she was facing him completely. She was so enraptured in the feel of his lips and how soft and pillowy they were, that she didn’t realize she had moved so much that she had practically crawled her way onto his lap, her arms locked around his neck to bring him closer to her and his own wrapped around her back to support. 

They’d never done this before. A few deep, lingering kisses yes, but never something as deep as this. She was sure it was because Jon thought she wasn’t ready for it.  _ Fuck it,  _ she thought. If they tip-toed around certain things until she said she was  _ ready,  _ then it’d be forever. She was no good with words, as proven by the conversation they just had. But with actions, maybe she could show him just how much she didn’t want to be treated as something fragile as glass. 

It was that moment when she felt his tongue tracing the entrance of her mouth. She wanted to freeze up right there on the spot, but on instinct she opened up for him, letting him guide her. If she was being honest with herself, she had no idea what she was doing. She lets him guide her movements, and soon enough with enough guidance, their tongues are dancing and fighting for dominance. Their breathing was heavy against each other, the sounds of it filling her room. Her hands that were once interlocked behind his neck had found their way to his head of curls, scratching and pulling. She had once longed to feel how his hair felt in her hands and now she was getting the full experience of it. They were soft and smooth as they surrounded her fingers and she found she never wanted to remove them from their spot. 

Everything that surrounded her sense were all  _ Jon.  _ The subtle scent of his cologne, the feel of her hands in his hair and his lips covering hers. Despite the heated situation, his hands remained firmly on her lower back, traveling no further down, like the gentleman he was. Dany’s eyes were closed shut as she allowed herself to relish in all of her senses. Her heart was thumping ferociously in her chest as they moved together. She hoped he wouldn’t be able to feel it, but judging from how close they were, he probably could. She could faintly hear his, and she was relieved to hear that it was beating just as hard as hers. 

She wanted them to stay there forever, close together inside their own private bubble in their own little world, undisturbed by others, but they couldn’t. Nobody was here to disrupt them, but for the lack of oxygen. Eventually they pulled away from each other, each breathing as if they had just ran a marathon at top speed the entire time. She rested her forehead atop his, keeping her hands still in its place in his hair, scratching lightly his scalp. She suppressed a smile at how cute she thought he looked as he closed his eyes and leaned back in her touch, almost like a dog receiving a good scratch behind the ears. When her fingers slowed, his eyes opened and in them she found there was no room for anything else but adoration. She moved her other hand that wasn’t preoccupied to his face, tracing his lips, his nose, his jawline. She received a hum in response and it was then she chose to smile. His eyes opened again after briefly shutting close. 

“Are you okay?”    


  
She bit her lower lip as she continued to trace his features. Her fingers found their way to the corner of his eyes and she stroked them. She nodded slowly to answer his question. 

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”    


  
He pondered her question for a moment, his eyes flickering from her own to her lips. “So I’m not scaring you away for good?”    


  
She chuckled lightly. “How could you possibly scare me away?” 

He shrugged. “I just wanna make sure you’re feelin’ okay. We’ve never really done that before. You’re sure you’re okay with it?” 

She nodded, trying her best to ignore the way his voice that he lowered down in volume, husky and deep, made her feel on the inside. “I’m okay. And you’re right, we’ve never done that before. But we’re definitely doing it again.” She gave a grin and leaned down to peck his lips, causing a smile of his own to spread on his beautiful face. 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” One of his own hands found their way to her face and cupped the side of it, rubbing his thumb over the ridge of her jawline and chin. 

“I don’t know about that. I’ve never done that before with anybody.”    


  
“Then you’re bloody amazing for a first timer. Does it make sense if I say to believe in yourself but don’t believe yourself?” 

She giggled at his question. “Hm, kind of.”    


  
“You giggled again.” He teased her, causing a shade of red coloring her features. 

“Then stop making me giggle.” She laughed even as she pressed her face to his neck, nuzzling into it. “It’s all your fault.”    


  
He took the opportunity that she unknowingly gave him to press light kisses to her neck, sending light tingles down her spine. His arms around her waist squeezed her extra tight. “Oh, I’m never going to stop now. Gods, you’re so cute.” She hid her face in his neck, trying to stop herself from blushing so hard. She placed several kisses of her own on his, before lifting her face up to look at him. Suddenly, she grew nervous again, retreating back inside herself. 

“Are we okay now?”    


  
Her question sobered him up as well, his expression serious. He cupped her face with both hands, his large hands covering almost all her face up. 

“I hope we are. Do you feel like we’re okay?”    


  
Dany nodded. She didn’t think they would share such a passionate moment only for them to not be on good terms with each other afterward. 

“I feel like we’re okay too. But we’re also different now. We’ll learn from our past mistakes. We’ll be better than okay.” 

She nodded again, pulling herself out of his hands to nestle her face in neck again. “I don’t want to fight with you again.” Her words were muffled, but he heard them loud and clear. Though it wasn’t a typical fight that they had, it still felt the exact same. 

Jon kissed tenderly the spot where neck and her shoulder met. “I don’t want to either, Dany. And we won’t.”    


  
“How do you know that?”    


  
He shook his head. “I don’t. But I’m willing to put in the effort to make sure that we don’t. And if something happens that it leads to a fight, then we’ll sit down and talk it out calmly until it’s fixed.”    


  
Dany nodded, agreeing with his statement. 

With nothing else left to be said, her lips found their way back to where they belong, on his. This was something she found she could not get tired of, no matter how many times they did it. It would always feel the same to her. It would always make her feel that spark of nervousness, excitement, affection, and lo-

No, not that. Not quite yet. Dany doesn’t think she’s ready to call it that yet. The word itself was such a small word in its physical term, but the weight it carried with it was severe. It sounded like a promise, and she wasn’t a thousand percent sure she was ready to make such a big promise. But the word still lingered in the back of her mind from time to time. This time however, it was replaced with the thoughts of Jon, smiling and laughing with her. The happiness and lightness she felt in her heart were things she hoped to all the gods that the people of Westeros and Essos believed in would stay there forever. 

___

It was finally Friday afternoon, and it found Dany in her room sitting nervously on her bed as she texted Jon about any other details for the dinner, which was in a little less than an hour. She wore a casual red blouse with a pair of black jeans, her long hair pulled into a single braid with a few strands in the front to frame her face. She’d looked at herself once, twice, and three times in front of the mirror, making sure everything was perfectly in place, not a single wrinkle or stain on her clothes, not a random flying wispy of hair out of place. She wanted to give the best impression she could for Jon’s family. 

**Jon:** _ You sure you’re okay? I can drive over there and meet you if you want. _

Dany smiled at his offer but declined it. He’d been asking her non stop if she was fine everything, which by the way,  _ yes _ she was. Nervous, maybe. But she was doing okay for the most part. 

**Dany:** _ For the thousandth time Jon, yes, I’m okay. I’m doing just fine. And no, don’t drive here, stay home and help your family. I can drive myself. _

There were a few dots on the screen indicating his message was being typed. It disappeared then reappeared, and Dany could tell he was having a war with himself on whether to listen to her or defy her. 

**Jon:** _ Fine. But if you need anything, call me. I sent you the address right?  _

**Dany:** _ Yes, you have. It’s not too terribly far. I’ll see you soon :)  _

**Jon:** _ See you :) _

She tossed her phone onto her bed and puffed a deep breath out. She should be leaving anytime soon. She’ll just set up everything that her uncle needs for Cedric then she’ll be on her way. She’ll get to Jon’s house, meet his family, have dinner, hopefully make sure it all goes well, then go home. That was her plan. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? At least, it shouldn’t. 

Dany internally groaned, collapsing on her back on the bed behind her before she jumped up, not wanting to frizz her hair. She picked up her phone.  _ 5:37.  _ She might as well just leave now instead of waiting around for the exact second to open her apartment door, and so she did. 

. 

_ Holy. Shit.  _

It was the only thing that went through Dany’s mind as she pulled up to the address Jon sent her. She was at the right place right? She was pretty sure she was. She’d followed the directions on the GPS pretty much exactly as it showed, and it led her here. Her car was currently in park in front of a long wooden gated driveway _.  _ A  _ gated fucking driveway!  _ Up along the driveway, she could faintly see from above it that it led to a huge manor house. 

_ Seven fucking hells.  _

Dany was quite convinced her boyfriend was some sort of secret prince living in a castle. 

She took her phone out of her purse and texted Jon. 

**Dany:** _ Hey, I’m currently right in front of your gate right now. How exactly do you open this thing?  _

She waited for about a minute before she got a response. 

**Jon:** _ Oh, yeah, forgot about that thing. Sorryy. I’ll let you in.  _

Just as he said so, the gate in front of her opened, and she drove ahead slowly. She reached the little round-a-bout driveway, which surrounded a beautiful fountain, in front of the house. There at the front door was Jon waving her down. She pulled up to where he was, turning the engine off and getting out of the car. Dany was in absolute awe as she looked at the house in front of her, so much so that she almost didn’t notice Jon walking towards. His hands were in his jean pockets as he grinned at her. 

“You found us.”    


  
Dany scoffed. “Yeah, kinda hard to miss.” She looked up at the multiple windows of the house, wondering what sort of rooms they held inside of them and how beautiful and elegant it must all look. She finally turned her attention to him though, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek and a warm embrace. 

“C’mon, let’s head inside. It’s pretty chilly out here.” She took hold of his hand and followed him as he led her to the front door, where she paused in her steps, causing him to turn around to her. 

“You okay?”    


  
“I’m like, ten steps away from meeting your family Jon. Are you sure this is all going to be okay?” She couldn’t help but ask. Her nerves were electrifying her alive. She couldn’t tell if she was shaking from her nervousness or the chill in the air and the slight breeze it brought with it. 

“Yes, I’m absolutely, positively sure. My siblings have been talking non-stop on finally getting to see you and my parents are quite excited to meet the girl I’m completely mooning over for. I’m positive that this will go well, but if it ever gets too much for you, then just let me know, alright?”

She nodded, silently grateful for the small option of escape on the side. She didn’t think she would actually need to use it, but it was still relieving to hear that it was there for her. She inhaled then sighed, nodding at him and letting him know she was ready to step in. He turned around to face forward again, unlatching the door and twisting the knob with his other hand that was free. Soon, they were inside and everything hit Dany all at once. 

She took note of the large, crystal chandelier that hung from the  _ very  _ tall ceiling, the light from the room and from itself reflecting off it, creating a beautiful effect. To the right, Dany saw a large fireplace with two accent chairs on either side of it and a coffee table between it. The mantel above it presented a few picture frames and even some small Halloween decor to accentuate it and celebrate the upcoming holiday. To the opposite side of the room found the elegant staircase leading up to the second floor of the house. Ahead of her, there was the opening to the next room, which was most likely where the main living room, kitchen, and dining area were at. 

As Jon led her through the next room, Dany saw that this was where all the ‘action’ was. The tall ceilings from the first room only grew higher in this one, the bright lights mounted in the ceiling walls providing a very open space as it bounced of the pristine white walls. The living room had about 4 couches; one cabriole sofa, two loveseats, and one large grey corner sectional sofa. The tv, which had to be at least 85 inches, in an entertainment center that took up the main room. There were large windows with neutral colored curtains that were drawn close for the evening, but Dany was sure that the amount of windows in the huge open space allowed enough light to come in that the lights that were built in at the very top were unneeded. On the other side was the kitchen, where the carpeted floor of the living room met the cool tiles of the kitchen. The large kitchen island in the center of it boasted a pretty white marble top that matched the other counters that were connected to the wall. Other than the regular windows in the room and the windowed door that led to the backyard, there was also a little bow window that was decorated with accented pillows. Dany saw as the dining table was set with 9 tables with a couple of mats left empty. 

She was made briefly aware of the wonderful smell of the food they would soon be eating, when she felt as if a pair of eyes were watching her. Or more like  _ 8  _ pairs of eyes. She saw in the living room 5 people  _ staring _ at her. There was one older looking man, presumably Jon’s father, three boys, one of them being Robb, who she remembered from the party and had seen around at school before, and two younger boys who looked significantly younger than him. Next to Robb was a younger looking girl, who looked remarkably a lot like Jon. She was probably Arya, Jon’s (secret favorite) sister. In the kitchen, there was an older looking women, who she guessed was Jon’s mother, and a red haired teenage girl who didn’t seem too far off from Dany’s age and looked like the spitting image of her mother, but younger. 

Instantly, Dany froze up, immediately embarrassed at having looked like an idiot in front of Jon’s family.  _ Oh my gods, I haven’t even said a word and I’ve already made a terrible impression.  _ She squeezed Jon’s hand reflexively, not even aware she did it until it happened. He looked down at her, but instead of a frown that she was expecting, he beamed at her.  _ Say something Daenerys!  _

“Uh, hi?” 

Did they even hear that? Could they even hear what she said? Every part of Dany’s body was yelling at her to turn around and leave before she could ruin things even more. She could feel her face getting heated up as the room was still ever silent, save for the background noise of the tv. 

“Guys, this is Dany, my girlfriend. Dany, this is my family.” He made a gesture to his family with his free hand. Jon seemed to be ignorant of the reaction she was getting, as his family was still ever silent, and Dany wanted nothing more to cry at how awkward this all was, when suddenly the silence was broken. 

“ _ Oh my gods, you are so pretty!”  _ The teenage girl with red hair blurted out, before slapping a hand over her mouth and her eyes widening. Dany blushed at the compliment, though she couldn’t tell if they saw it or if her already heated and embarrassed face covered it up. 

“Sansa! That’s not a very nice greeting.” 

Her mother scolded the girl, Sansa she heard her name was, before turning to Dany. 

“Daenerys! It’s so nice to finally meet you. Jon’s been talking non stop about you before you came here.” His mother greeted her warmly. “I apologize for my family’s rude greeting to you. I’m sure they have their reasons. I’m Catelyn Stark, Jon’s mother.” She held her hand out for Dany to shake, which she did. When they withdrew their hands back, Dany saw as his father took his place next to her, thrusting his hand forward for her to shake as well. 

“I’m Eddard, but everyone calls me Ned. I’m Jon’s old man.” She shook his hand, pleasantly surprised at how warm it was. “Everyone, please introduce yourself to Daenerys.”    


  
“Hey Dany!” 

Dany turned to see who had greeted her, but she had a feeling she knew who it was before she even looked. Behind her, Robb wore a huge grin.   


  
“Hi Robb.” She returned a small smile of her own to him and gave him a small wave, which she regretted as she felt it was probably awkward to do so. 

“You two know each other already?” His father, Ned, asked her. 

“I met him once at a party, but I’ve seen him around before at school.” Ned nodded at her brief explanation, before turning around with his wife to prepare the meal. The red haired girl was walking towards her next. 

“Hi, I’m Sansa Stark, but just Sansa’s fine. Sorry about my little slip-of-the-lip there earlier. I just couldn’t help myself. You really are pretty though.” 

Dany blushed at her compliment this time. “Thank you. But you’re really beautiful too, a lot like your mother actually.” 

This time, it was Sansa’s turn to blush at the compliment. Dany could only tell her the truth though. Sansa had a quality of beauty to her that was a sharp, but kind. She beamed at Dany and turned to Jon, winking at him before turning away, going back to the kitchen island and taking a seat on one of the chairs and going on her phone. She heard a quiet throat clear next to her, and she turned around to see who it was. 

“I’m Bran.” The younger boy with glasses told her, before turning around and running back to the couch, picking up a book back in his hand. When he left, he revealed an even younger boy, who was currently looking up at her with his big brown eyes. Her heart immediately tugged at how cute he looked. He even had brown little curls that resembled Jon’s which she immediately found endearing and probably the most adorable thing she’s seen. 

“Hi! I’m Rickon.” The little boy gave a big wave and a smile to her, and Dany couldn’t help but chuckle at his brightness. 

“Hi. I’m Dany.” She bent down a little bit to stick her hand out for him, which he heartily shook. After, he followed his older brother, running back to the couch next to him and going on an ipad. She bent back up and looked up at Jon and smiled at him, which he returned. 

“Dinner’s ready! We can talk more at the table.” Catelyn Stark announced. Everyone bounded to the dining table as Catelyn began setting out the meals.  _ Good impressions, good impressions.  _

“Do you need any help?” Dany offered her. 

“Oh, no dear, I should be fine. Go join them at the table. Thank you for the offer though.” She gave her a warm smile and Dany nodded, before heading to the dining table, taking her seat next to Jon’s. As she observed the family at the dinner table, Dany noted that she had yet to meet Arya Stark, the sibling that Jon talked so often about. She began to wonder if it was because the girl had already deemed her unworthy of her brother and didn’t like her without even saying a word to her. She patted Jon’s leg next to her, getting his attention as the food was still being set up. 

“I don’t think I’ve met Arya yet.” She whispered to him. Jon frowned, glancing over at Arya before looking back to her. 

“Maybe after dinner? She’ll talk to you eventually. If I had to guess, she’s using one of her ‘intimidation’ tactics on you. She’s probably just trying to get a measure of you.”    


  
“Should I be worried?”    


  
“Nah, I don’t think you should. Arya will come around eventually before you leave.” 

Dany nodded, and they concluded their little conversation as the last of the food was set up. As Dany took in all the plates of food set out for dinner, she could feel her eyes widening. There was  _ so much!  _ From a plate of delicious looking baked potatoes, a bowl of coleslaw salad, to a big bowl of pasta, there was everything on there. 

“What do you wanna try first?” Jon broke her out of her stunned thoughts. 

“Uh,” Dany paused as she took in the myriad of options to choose from. “Maybe the baked potatoes?” 

Once she said it, Jon nodded and reached over for the plate for Dany, allowing her to choose which one she wanted and how many. After she finished, he set it back down where it was, and she asked him politely to pass the pasta over. By then, everyone had gotten their food and was digging in, the room silent save of the scratching of plates against the utensils and the sound of people chewing and enjoying what they’re eating. Dany took a bite out of the baked potatoe, and instantly closed her eyes and relished in the goodness of it. It was savory and sweet all at the same time. She opened her eyes again and began to eat her food at a slightly faster pace than she had before, relishing each bite she took from the food she had chosen. She was still eating when Jon’s mother spoke. 

“So, Daenerys, tell us a little bit about yourself.” The woman gave her a polite smile and folded her hands on the table near her chest to show she was giving her her full attention. Jon’s father was still eating, but had slowed down to give his attention too. Dany tensed up quickly, unsure of what to say. Jon must’ve sensed her discomfort as she felt his hand go to her thigh and begin to rub it gently, soothing her nerves. 

“What would you like to know?”    


  
“Anything you feel you want to share with us, your home life, your hobbies, anything. We want to know more about the girl that our son is so taken with.” 

Dany nodded, understanding where she was getting at.  _ Okay, this is the time to not screw up Daenerys. You got that?  _

“Uhm, well I’m obviously a senior at Winterfell High. I moved to live up here in the North when I was around 6 years old. I’m not the most extroverted person you’ll ever meet. I prefer to keep to myself most of the time. I like to read a lot. I don’t have many friends, just one. We’re very close and she comes to my place to hang out often.” 

His parents nodded, and his father took the choice to ask her another question. “What about school? How’s school going for you right now?” 

_ Easy.  _ “Well, it’s going pretty well if I’m being honest. I’m taking all AP Courses. I actually plan on graduating this year as valedictorian and highest GPA in the class. I don’t know about the highest GPA yet, but I’m working my way there. Uh, I don’t know if Jon has told you yet, but I actually tutored for him for a bit before.” 

“You were Jon’s tutor?” His mother’s eyebrows were shot high up. 

“Yes ma’am.” She answered respectfully. Dany wasn’t completely sure what to call his parents yet. She was a bit uncomfortable at calling them by their first name. 

“Well at least now we know who she was. Our son told us a little while ago that he was getting tutored by some girl. We forgot her name, but I guess we have our answer now.” His father told her. 

“Now that we know who it is, we just wanted to tell you Daenerys; thank you so much for what you’ve done. I don’t know how you managed to do it, but since he’s gotten himself a tutor, we’ve seen such a significant improvement in his grades. So thank you very much for helping him out. I know it’s definitely not the easiest thing in the world.” She winked at Dany, who bit back a smile. 

“I’m right here Mom.” Jon deadpanned to her. 

“Oh hush. You know I’m right.” Jon shook his head before chuckling as well. 

“Though that does make us a bit curious; how did you and Jon manage to come to be together?”    


  
Dany smiled mischievously at Jon next to her before turning back to his parents. “Well, we first met in our AP Environmental Science class, when he decided to take the open seat next to mine. He started bugging me a lot because he couldn’t answer the questions, so I ended up having to help him. He kept sitting next to me and asking me questions. One day I told him he should just get his own tutor to help him, when he suggested that  _ I  _ should be his tutor. We started meeting after schools for the lessons, and they’ve actually been helping him. I guess we started becoming ‘friends’ and talking more. It happened over the course of a few several weeks, when he showed me his progress report, which only had two B’s and the rest A’s. I told him how I proud I was of him, and he said he wanted to celebrate it by going on a date with me. After that, we started going out on more dates, but we still had lessons every now and then when he needed them. He asked me to be his official girlfriend when-”    


  
Dany paused, glancing over to Jon and giving him a fake-glare, remembering why exactly he had been pushed to ask her out officially. He gave her a nervous smile, and she continued. 

“When he realized he just couldn’t take it anymore and had to ask me to be his.” She smirked over at Jon, whose jaw dropped in fake offence. “That was a little over a month and a ha;f ago, almost two months.” She concluded her explanation, pursing her lips as she watched his parents’ reaction. It was his dad who reacted first, giving a guffaw of laughter. His mother even started chuckling a bit, though a bit more gracefully than her husband. When his father’s laughter died down a bit, he spoke. 

“Ah, of course! That’s my boy Jon! What was it really that my son did to chase for your heart?” he leaned in closer to hear. Dany wasn’t sure how to respond to his question, but thankfully Jon decided to answer for her. 

“I was talking to a few girls one morning and Dany got jealous. I knew the only way to win her back was to make things between us official so she wouldn’t worry anymore. I even asked her with a bouquet of blue winter roses.” 

“Oh my gods of course you did Jon.” Sansa rolled her eyes at her brother. “You were always Aunt Lyanna’s favorite and none of you can deny it!” It’s what she said before turning back to her plate and finishing the salad she dumped on it. 

“That’s such a sweet way to ask her out Jon.” His mother commented. Jon beamed at his mother’s praise. “I must say, you two do make quite a good looking couple.” 

“Dany does all the work.”    


  
Dany’s eyes widened at Jon’s casual remark and blushed. “Jon!” She playfully hit his arm, which he unsuccessfully tried to jerk back from her, laughing as she did so. She sobered back up, sitting up and facing his parents again. She mumbled out an apology, blushing at her immaturity. 

“No need to apologize Daenerys.” His father reassured her with a great smile. 

“Well, since everyone looks just about done with their meals, how ‘bout I go get the desserts from the fridge and the oven?” His mother suggested before excusing herself to go back in the kitchen and get said food items.

When she came back, Dany’s mouth immediately started to water at the options of desserts that were set up. On the table, there was Crème brûlée, lava cakes, lemon cakes, apple pie, and chocolate tiramisu. 

“Woah-ho, dig in everyone. This looks delicious! Thank you love.” 

She heard Ned Stark speak quietly the last words to his wife, and Dany couldn’t help but smile. While Ned took a tiramisu, Catelyn Stark a slice of the apple pie, Sansa taking a bunch of small lemon cakes, and Jon taking the Crème brûlée quickly, she decided to try the molten lava cake. As soon as the spoon set in her mouth with a piece of the cake, Dany couldn’t help the small moan that came out from her throat as she savored the sweet taste of the cake. She blushed as she noticed everyone staring at her with amused faces, although Jon looked at her with a different, much darker look in eyes. It wasn’t a bad dark look, but more of a look that made her dart her tongue to lick her dry lips and left her insides tingling. She decided to focus on her dessert instead, not sure exactly what had just transpired between her and Jon. 

“So Daenerys,” Catelyn Stark started. “You mentioned moving up here in the North when you were about six years old, yes? Where did you live before?” 

“Oh, uh, I was born in Dragonstone. I lived there, before coming up here to live with my uncle.” Dany squeezed her eyes shut as soon as the last sound of the sentence came. She cursed herself for spilling about her uncle now. She knew the questions that would be asked would be those she would not be ready to answer yet. 

“Why did you move exactly? If I’ve heard correctly, Dragonstone is much warmer than Winterfell. Possibly a bit humid, but much warmer and kinder weather than up here in the cold North.”    


  
Dany took a deep breath, squeezing the hand that Jon had wrapped around her own as she focused on  _ not  _ losing herself. “My uncle lives up here in the North. Which is why I moved here when I was six, to live with him.”    


  
“Your uncle? Where are your parents?” 

“They’re with my two older brothers.” Dany blankly stated. 

“And where is that?” Ned Stark probed a little more. Dany knew they didn’t mean any harm to their questions and were just genuinely curious about her, but she couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Gone.”    


  
It was all she said before she turned to Jon. She didn’t have to say a word to him, for as soon as she turned to him, looking as if she were ready to cry any second now, he stood up from his chair, helping her up from hers. 

“We’re going to the bathroom. We’ll be out soon.” 

She managed to turn around just in time to see the look of realization that crossed his parents, as well as his siblings faces when they understood what she meant. She turned back around to look forward, letting Jon guide her to the bathroom by the hand wrapped around her waist. 

Once they got inside, as soon as Jon clicked the lock on the door, at once did Dany’s body begin to wrack with sobs that coursed through, unable to hold back any longer. 

“It’s okay, shh. It’s okay.”    


  
Jon had come over, wrapping her small frame with his large arms, rubbing her back and burying his nose in her head as he comforted her through her grief. He whispered small, sweet nothings in her hair. Somehow in the midst of her sobs, Jon managed to move them so that he sat on the toilet and half-cradled her in his arms. She felt him as he soothed her hair, caressing her upper arm. She hated that she got like this whenever the subject of her passed family was breached. She hated how sensitive she was over it, almost 12 years later. Why couldn’t she just mourn over them and then get over it? Why did she have to suffer the pain of their loss everyday, every moment she breathed? It wasn’t fair, she thought. She wanted to be free of the pain, of the weight that brought her down little by little everyday. But the gods deemed her unworthy of that freedom. She believed she would forever be a slave to her own grief. 

“I’m sorry.” She apologized to him when her cries had died down a bit, though a few tears still made their way down her face. 

“Why? None of this is your fault.” He brushed the hair that stuck to her wet face out of the way and used his thumb to wipe away any tears still left on her face. 

“I ruined family dinner. And your parents’ opinion of me, I’m pretty sure.” He started shaking his head. 

“No. No, don’t be ridiculous Dany. Did you see the? Maybe you can’t see it, but I can tell they’re absolutely taken with you. I’ve never seen them this warm and open when I introduce them to someone. You might not think so, but if you trust me, then you’d believe me.”    


  
She looked up to gaze into his eyes, her lips slightly quivering still. She gave him a small smile. “I don’t know what they’ll think after seeing me burst out crying after one innocent question. And your siblings’ were looking at me really weirdly.”    


  
“Dany, they know why you’re crying. They understand. Maybe Bran and Rickon are a bit too young to fully comprehend things, but everyone else? They know. They understand. You can explain to them that it’s not a subject that you take lightly and they’ll understand to be careful about it.”   


  
Dany wasn’t so sure a bout it as Jon was. She still believed that she had screwed up her impression on them. She gave him a wounded look, not sure how to respond. He knew how to respond though, ever the smooth one to take initiative. He turned her head slightly to the side in a certain angle with his thumb and forefinger, before bringing her head down to meet his lips with hers. She quickly parted her lips slightly, allowing him entrance. 

They shouldn’t be doing this. They shouldn’t be making out in the bathroom of his parents’ house, with his family just in the outside room at the dining table. But she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into his gentle, comforting touches. The way his lips moved against hers as he held her securely on his lap was addicting. She could faintly taste the sweet crème brûlée from him and she hummed in pleasure. When they pulled away, her eyes fluttered from closed to open, before they opened fully and quirked the corner of her lips. 

“We should probably head out before they think we’re doing something else.” She admitted to him. Jon nodded, showing his agreement but reluctantly let her off his lap. She looked in the mirror to check her appearance, brushing her hair through with her fingers and splashing some cold water on her face to get rid of the redness and puffiness around her eyes, gratefully taking a face towel from Jon when she finished. With one last look in the mirror, they head back out hand in hand to the dining room. 

There everyone was still where they were as they had left them, but this time, the color was drained from their faces. 

  
“Hey, look I really-”    


  
“Daenerys honey, we are so sorry.” Catelyn Stark interrupted her. She got up from her seat and came over to Dany, engulfing her in a tight hug, causing Dany to let go of Jon’s hand. He looked at her with something soft in his eyes before nodding back to the table, indicating he would go take a seat. Dany closed her eyes, in a slight effort to remember how warm her hug was. Dany couldn’t remember the feeling of a true mother’s hug, her mother having passed too long for her to remember how it felt. Dany almost melted into the hug, but she extracted herself before she went on too long and embarrassed herself again. 

  
“I’m so sorry dear. We shouldn’t have asked. I hope you can forgive us for that.” 

Dany shook her head. “No, please, don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. You couldn’t have known. This isn’t anybody’s fault. I guess it’s just such a sensitive topic to me that whenever it’s brought up, I just sort of, break down a bit. I hope you can forgive me for just bursting into tears like that. I promise I’m really not that fragile.”    


  
“There’s nothing to forgive you for. You have every right to be upset over matters such as that. We’re sorry for your loss, no matter how long ago. No child should have to go through that type of pain.” 

She gave Catelyn Stark a grateful smile, thankful for the woman’s deep understanding of her situation. “Thank you… we should, uh, go back to the table. I’m not sure I want to talk about it any longer.”    


  
“Of course. We were just finishing up the desserts anyways. You can meet us in the living room if you want while we fix up here.”    


  
“I can help if you want me to. Even if you say I don’t have to be sorry for anything, it doesn’t make me feel any less bad about my reaction earlier. Please let me make this up.” 

She stared at Dany for what seemed like the longest time ever, her eyes moving as if she had a built in scanner that was scanning Dany to her very soul. Then she nodded, leading her to the table to fix up the plates. As she picked up and stacked a few plates on top of each other, Jon walked passed her, placing a hand over her shoulder. 

“Are you gonna be okay?”    


  
“Mhm. I’ll be fine. I just want to help your mom out, is all. I’ll be there in the living room soon.”    


  
Jon nodded, giving her shoulder a good squeeze before departing. Dany resumed to bringing the plates from the table to the sink. Once the table was void of plates, she helped Catelyn wash the plates just enough for them to be loaded into the dishwasher, the woman stating that ‘it was too much work to wash all of it’. Once they were all inside the dishwasher, she helped her boyfriend’s mother clean up the table by wiping off the mats, cleaning up the crumbs and wiping the entire table off so that it was clean for the next time. 

Once they finished, Dany found Jon’s father there in the kitchen with them, his arms crossed and a pleased look on his face. 

“I must say, you did a nice job here. Thank you ladies.” 

“Of course, Sir.” Dany nodded then bit her lower lip, unsure of what to do next. 

“Bah, enough of that nonsense! We heard you earlier but we let it slide, but enough is enough Daenerys. No more of that ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ stuff. We aren’t military generals. Just call us Ned and Catelyn.” 

“Or Cat.” Jon’s mother,  _ Catelyn,  _ interjected.

Dany wasn’t so sure though. “Oh, are you sure? Is that not too informal or-”    


  
“We’re not some sort of kings and queens Daenerys. You’re our son’s girlfriend, we want you to feel comfortable with us. There will be no such things as informalities here. Which leads us to what we wanted to speak with you about. We were hoping to do this alone, just the three of us. Come, sit down first.”    


  
Dany instantly grew worried, every assumption flying through her mind at whatever Jon’s parents wanted to sit her down alone for.  _ This is it,  _ she thought.  _ This is where they tell me I’m not good enough for their son. This is where they tell me I have to break up with him. This is where I’m going to have to leave Jon forever-  _

Once they were situated in their seats, Dany started fidgeting with hands underneath the table as her left leg started bouncing up again. She suddenly wished Jon were here to help her calm her nerves down a bit. 

“We wanted to talk about you and Jon, and your influence on him.” Ned started. “We-” 

“You don’t think I’m good enough to date him.” Dany blurted out. 

When she realized what she had just said, her eyes widened before they squeezed shut as she bit her lower lip hard.  _ Why do you always have to fuck everything up? All you had to do was sit there and listen to them Daenerys, for gods’ sakes!  _

To her surprise, Ned and Cat wore shocked and confused looks at her sudden assumption. 

“No, no, that’s not at all what we wanted to say to you. The complete opposite actually.” Catelyn explained. 

“R-really?”  _ Why, why am I so stupid when it comes to this stuff?!  _

“Yes. We wanted to thank you for more than just helping Jon with his grades. When you both told us that you started dating almost two months ago, Ned and I began watching Jon’s actions more clearly and also thought of his actions from the past. It was around that time as well that he was acting a little bit differently, but a good different. It’s a little bit hard to explain, but we could see the changes in him. He was less grouchy with us, a little bit more open, and happier as well. We’ve been worried for him for a while now. We got on him for his grades and truancies at school, but we knew we should’ve been more firm on his other habits as well. He likes to think that we’re completely ignorant of his actions with his friends, or his previous girlfriends. We’ve chosen to ignore it in hopes that maybe he’ll get better without him knowing we know. But things didn’t really start to look up until you came around.” 

This time, Ned decided to take from there from his wife. 

“His friends, as you probably know, aren’t the greatest influences on him. We’re aware of our son’s actions and what caused him to do it in the first place. We were completely lost on what to do. Has he told you what happened four years ago?”    


  
Dany shook her head. What happened four years ago?    


  
“As I thought. Despite Jon’s.. status at school, he’s actually quite a private guy. Sometimes too private. You might remember Sansa saying something about his Aunt Lyanna and her blue winter roses earlier. Lyanna was my sister, and she was loved dearly by everyone. For some reason, out of all my children, it was Jon that she was taken the most with. Arya was close, but nothing could compare to her love for my second son. Any moment that Jon didn’t spend as a baby or a young child with us or his siblings, it was always with his Aunt. She would always be the one to offer to babysit our kids, just to have more time with Jon. When Jon got a bit older, his and Lyanna’s bond together was something that couldn’t be broken. She was like his second mother. Though it’s not to say that he doesn’t love Cat just as much, his bond was different with my sister, and was made of something else. When Cat and I had Jon, Lyanna was barely just graduating high school, so their age differences weren’t too terribly far off from each other. They understood each other in a way that others just couldn’t. They were like the best of friends. I like to believe that soulmates don’t just have to be about romantic love, but love born of family and bonds with friends as well. That’s what they had. They loved to do everything together. 

“One day, when Jon had gotten from middle school, we received a call from the hospital. We drove our entire family over there only to receive the worst of news; Lyanna had died from a car crash. It was hard on all us. She was my baby sister. But Jon took the news the worst. It took us so many weeks for him to finally come out of his room and start his life back up again. We learned that he and Lyanna had been planning some time to go on a big hiking trip the next day. He was so excited for it. We found in his room a big hiking backpack that was already packed with things he’ll need for the trip. He never bothered to unpack it when he learned of the news. He was finally out of his room, until Lyanna’s funeral. After that, he never bothered, and we grew so worried for his health. We were thinking of perhaps bringing him to a grief counselor or someone else to help him. But we weren’t sure if it would even work. When he got to high school, I guess that’s where he decided to just let it all loose. He’d gotten in a few fights and had to be suspended once or twice for it. Eventually, I guess he found his of coping with it all. He thrives on the popularity he gets from the school. And who were we to stop him from trying to help himself?”    


  
When Ned concluded, Dany could feel the tears begin to prickle her eyes yet again, for the second time that night. Jon had really gone through that? Why had he never told her? After everything she’s told him did he not trust her with his own past too?    


  
Dany shook the thoughts of her mind before they could fester. She was being insensitive. She of all people knew that some pain was too hard to unload, no matter how much you needed to. She understood how she felt. Dany just wished she could’ve been there for him, helping him as he told her the story himself. Her admiration for her boyfriend only grew, and in a way, without even talking to him about it yet, she could feel their bond only deepen more.  _ Jon, my Jon.  _ He didn’t deserve to ever feel such pain, no matter what type of decisions he chose to make after it. People make bad choices in times of distress. Dany understood now. She just wished she could have heard it from his own voice instead of his parents’. 

She swallowed the lump down her throat so that she could speak, though her voice sounded slightly raspy still. “I-I didn’t know… Why are you telling me this? Does he know you’re telling me?” 

“He doesn’t know. But we’re afraid you’ll never know of his past if we choose to let him decide when to tell you. He likes to act like he’s the toughest guy around, but we know he just needs someone there for him that isn’t us. We told you because we trust you Daenerys. We trust you with our son and because we think it’s important you know of his past. After getting to know a little bit more of you throughout dinner, we got a good measure of you. Though there’s still much more we want to know about you, we know enough to say this; you’re a good hearted girl. You’re caring, determined, intelligent, but also a good balance of playful. We just have a feeling that you’re a good match for Jon. You may not realize it, but you’ve changed him for the better. So we just really want to thank you for that.” 

Dany was completely speechless after that. She had no idea what to say, how could she possibly respond to that? The only person she really wanted to talk about this with was Jon. But would he appreciate the fact that she knows? What if he never wanted her to find out, and would get mad when he found out she knew? Dany was torn between feeling honoured that Jon’s parents did indeed like her and trust her enough with this, and feeling upset that they hadn’t consulted with Jon before telling her of  _ his  _ secrets.

“I.. I don’t know what to say. I guess thank you, for trusting me with this. It means a lot to me that you do, and that you actually like me.” Dany gave a nervous chuckle, which died quickly. “Is that all?” She asked tentatively. 

“Yes, that’s all. Thank you, one last time Daenerys.” Catelyn thanked her warmly. 

“Just Dany is fine.” Was what Dany said with a smile before leaving the kitchen to join Jon. 

Just as she walked away from them, she was stopped by another one of Jon’s family members.

_ Arya Stark.  _

Dany was surprised, and would’ve been shier had she not heard many things of this girl specifically. Jon had once told her how spunky and sassy Arya could, so Dany knew this was  _ not  _ the type of girl she should pussyfoot around. 

“Oh, hi, uh Arya right?” Dany asked. She mainly only did it for show, just so she wouldn’t have to stand there awkwardly after saying a ‘hi’ only. Thankfully, the girl nodded but that was it. When it became clear to Dany that Arya wouldn’t say anything first, she decided to just take a deep breath and go for it herself. “Jon’s talked a lot about you.” 

“Has he?” The very first words she spoke to her were void of any emotion, not exactly the warm greetings she’d expected.  _ What exactly was she expecting again?  _

“Good things, I mean.” Dany was quick to clarify. “I’ve heard a lot of interesting but good things about you.” 

“I’ve heard quite a bit about you as well.”

“Oh? Good things I hope.” Dany tried to laugh to lighten the mood, but it failed when Arya only shrugged and continued her blank face stare at her. 

“Did you want to speak with me about something?” She tried asking her politely. To her surprise, she actually got a proper response. 

“Actually, yes, I do. It’s about you and my brother, obviously.” 

“Okay, go ahead, ask me anything.” 

“What are your intentions with him?”

_ Oh it’s one of those talks.  _ Okay. She could handle this just fine. As long as she was honest, she’d be just fine.

“I don’t have any intentions. Well, not bad intentions I mean. I’m with him because I really like him and I enjoy being with him. As plain and simple as that. Well-not  _ that  _ plain and simple. But, uh,”  _ Stop talking Dany!  _ “Yeah, I think you get it.” 

Arya nodded though, showing her understandment. 

“Why do you like him?” 

  
  
_ Why do I like him? That’s like asking if 2+2 is a hard problem!  _   


  
“I like your brother for many reasons. He likes to pretend he’s the coolest guy around, but I can see deeper than that with him. He’s kind and generous, patient and accepting with and of me. He doesn’t judge me despite how self-critical I am of myself. I feel comfortable just being myself around Jon. At first, I thought I would hate him, and I almost did. But I got to know him a little more, and I’ve learned that one of the most important things about him is how kind and good his heart is. I guess that’s why I’m so drawn to him. I could go on all night and day elaborating on everything about him, but I don’t want to bore you.” 

Arya didn’t say anything, and merely squinted at her. Dany wouldn’t call herself the bravest person ever, far from it in fact. But she at least thought she could hold her own against Jon’s 13 year old sister. But as she stood there uncomfortably as Arya had her eyes narrowed at her, even going as far as leaning in, almost as if to smell Dany as a wolf would smell its soon-to-be meal. Then in an instance, she moved away, standing up straight with an innocent smile on her face, as if she hadn’t just almost scared the crap out of Dany. 

“Okay.”    


  
“Okay?”    


  
“You passed.”    


  
_ That was a test?!  _ “Passed? I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”    


  
Arya rolled her eyes, and Dany swallowed nervously at having annoyed her. “I thought you were supposed to be super smart or something. I wanted to get to know you a little more. It’s why I didn’t introduce myself to you at first. I wanted to see how you would be. I figured there’d be no point in us getting to know each other only for you to end up being a total bitch and me having to waste my time getting to know you.”    


  
Dany eyes widened in surprise at the young girl’s language. “Should you be saying that kind of language?” 

She rolled her eyes again.  _ Sassy indeed.  _ “Not you too. Jon, Robb, and my mother already get on me for swearing so much. It’s just a bad habit that can’t be helped.”    
  


Dany nodded, unwilling to argue with her. So far, everything she’s heard of Arya from Jon has been correct.  _ Spunky? I can see it. Sassy? Big check on that one. Tomboy-ish? Well she already seems far more boyish than her older sister. Intimidating? Definitely a yes.  _

“You’re already different than the other girls I’ve seen my brother date. Way different. It’s a good thing though. If you were anything like them, I would’ve booted your ass out of here, with Jon’s consent or not.”    


  
“Different? How different would you say I am?”    


  
“Different in many ways. I asked this one girl that I met one time the same questions as I did you. This tall blonde girl. She was pretty enough I guess.”    


  
_ She’s probably talking about Val.  _

“Anyways. I asked her the things. Except, her answers were those I didn’t like. She said she liked how cool Jon is with other people and how smooth he could be. I knew as soon as she said that that I would hate her from that point on. Jon is more than just a popular boy with lots of followers. He’s a human first. And your answers showed me that you thought the same. I heard what my parents were talking to you about, what happened four years ago that changed Jon. After seeing you burst into tears like you did at dinner because of your passed family, I knew then as well. I knew you would understand and connect with Jon in so many different ways. Maybe you might even help him find peace with it all eventually.” 

Dany was once again rendered speechless. The three most important people in Jon’s family life had given her their approval of being with Jon. She would have jumped for joy and giddiness if it weren’t for the fact that she didn’t want to tarnish her impression on them by embarrassing herself and Jon. Suddenly, she wanted to tell Arya one valuable piece of information that she hoped the girl would be mature enough to understand, but keep to herself as well. 

“One of my older brothers, he-he was killed in a car accident too, on the way to pick me up from school. He died instantly upon impact.”    


  
This time, it was Arya’s turn to look astonished. She looked at Dany with wide eyes and her lips ever so slightly parted. But as quick as it came, it left her face, and she grew serious again. Dany admired the girl’s advanced maturity for her age. 

“You-.. did he really?”    


  
Dany nodded, confirming her thoughts. 

“Oh. Oh wow… So I guess you and Jon would understand each other more than I thought. I didn’t- I really didn’t expect that… I’m sorry.”    


  
She smiled at Arya’s genuine attempt to apologize. Dany tried to brush it as just her not wanting to her brother’s girlfriend cry again. Except, it felt more than that. 

“No, don’t be sorry. I’m trying to work on, you know,  _ not  _ bursting into tears whenever it’s mentioned.”    


  
Arya nodded, and Dany was yet again hit with impressiveness at how mature and far beyond her age Arya was. 

“Jon and I, we’re the closest of our entire siblings. It doesn’t matter to us our age difference. I’m his youngest sister; he protects me and loves me. And he’s my older brother and I’ll protect and love him just the same. Us Starks? We’re a pack. A wolf pack. If you hurt one of us, then you hurt all of us. I don’t think you’re the type of person to hurt Jon, but just as a warning; if you hurt Jon, the wrath of 7 wolves will hurt you. Don’t forget that.”    


  
With those last parting words, Arya continued walking, away from Dany and into the kitchen. It took Dany about a minute and a half to recover from the shock and surprise that her conversation with Arya, and her parents as well, just hit her.  _ Any other sibling wanna have a personal talk too?  _ She walked herself to the living room, where Jon and Robb were on the couch laughing as they watched their two younger brothers play a video game, while Sansa was on her phone, occasionally glancing up at the tv screen and smiling, before turning back to her phone. After a couple minutes, Jon finally noticed Dany’s presence, and stood up to greet her, mussing his brother Rickon’s hair up as he passed him. 

“Hey. Sit down here with us.” He took her hand and they sat down next to each other on the couch. She tried to act casual about it and pretend she didn’t notice Robb and Sansa’s attention on her now. 

“What took you so long?” Jon asked her once they settled in their positions on one of the loveseats.

“Well, after your mom and I finished up cleaning everything up, your parents wanted to have a talk with me personally about some stuff. After that, Arya stopped me and we had a talk too.”    


  
Jon seeme quite surprised by this. “Really? What did Arya say to you?”    


  
“Probably threatened her, if it’s Arya we’re talking about.” Robb snorted. Jon was about to send his brother a dirty look but Dany stopped him. 

“She did actually. But it was just a warning. She asked me a few questions, and after that, she said she actually liked me, which was pretty surprising.”    


  
“Arya gave Dany her approval?!” Robb asked incredulous. “She’s still on the fence about Talisa and we’ve been dating for bloody  _ months!”  _

Jon only sent his brother a smirk and a wink in his direction, who responded with the finger to Jon. He turned back to Dany. 

“What did my parents say?”    


  
_ Don’t say anything about his aunt yet. Wait until it’s just you two.  _

“They wanted to thank me. They said that ever since dating me, you’ve ‘changed for the better’. They think I’m a good influence on you. I guess I got their approval too.” 

Jon seemed to beam with complete pride and adoration at hearing Dang say that. “See? I told you they’d all love you! I think you owe me something.” 

“Owe you something? I do not recall us turning this into a bet.” Dany’s smile dropped from the little tease with each other when she saw Jon pull a face. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing. Just, promise me one thing? Don’t say that last word again.” 

“What word? Bet?” 

“Yeah that.” 

“I don’t understand. Why not?” 

“Just don’t okay. I don’t like the word, is all.” 

Dany frowned, wondering why it bothered Jon so much. But she decided to let it go. She guessed that there were just certain words that people absolutely hated for no rational reason at all. Some hated the word ‘moist’, just as Dany absolutely hated the phrase ‘going mad’ or anything that had to do with descending down into a mad state. She scrapped it up to just Jon hating how the word sound, though to Dany, it didn’t really sound all that odd. 

“Okay. I won’t say it again.” 

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” 

They continued to watch in amusement Bran and Rickon racing each other on some sort of car game that Dany wasn’t too familiar with. She cuddled into Jon, his left arm draped behind her upper back on the edge of the couch behind them, her legs curled on the seat as she rested her head on his left shoulder. Every now and then, she would chuckle at the yells that the two little boys would yell as they played, their competitiveness getting the best of them. Sansa even managed to strike up a small conversation with Dany about girly stuff, such as clothes, hair, makeup, and school (to which Jon tried his best to not listen in to despite literally being right next to them). 

Soon, the night began to draw to a close, as the clock began to near 9 pm. Ned and Cat told the boys to shut the game off and prepare to go to sleep. 

“I should be heading home soon. I don’t want to keep Cedric up  _ too _ late tonight.” She told Jon, who helped her stand up from the couch.

“Okay. Well, I’ll see you off then.” 

As they began walking back to the front door, Dany stopped in front of his parents, wanting to say a few last words. 

“Thank you  _ so much _ for everything you’ve done tonight. I appreciate you cooking so many things, they were all so delicious Mrs. Stark.” She directed her last sentence to Jon’s mother,who waved her off.

“Oh, it was really nothing. And please, Daenerys, we told you to call us by our first names. None of that title stuff, okay?” 

Dany blushed, forgetting about that one detail. “Okay. Well, thanks again for having me over. It really was so great to meet Jon’s family.” 

“And it was so great to meet Jon’s girlfriend.” Ned added. “You’re welcome here anytime Daenerys. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us as well. We’ll see you next time, alright?” 

Dany nodded, bidding her goodbyes to them and to Jon’s siblings as they finally made it out the front door. As she opened her car door, she stood, her arms perched over the door, looking at Jon right in front of her. 

“So?” 

She cracked a smile. “So what?” 

“What did you think about tonight?” He took a step closer to her, close enough that she could feel him blocking some of the chilly air that hit her. 

“I think that you were right. I should’ve trusted you more about it in the first place. I think your family’s absolutely amazing, and warm and so welcoming.” 

“Yeah? You think so?” 

“Mhm. You know, when I first saw that you lived in a _fucking_ _castle,_ I thought they’d be these super strict, posh people like back then, when people used to live in houses as huge as this one.” 

“They’re not all too bad. Oh, and it gets even bigger when you see all the rooms and the backyard. Next time you come, I promise I’ll show you the Godswoods. It was getting pretty dark already, so I didn’t think you’d be able to see and appreciate its true beauty. Thought I’d wait for a better time.” 

Dany smiled brightly. “I’m sure I’ll love it when I see it.” 

“I’m sure you would too. Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you home?” 

Dany rolled her eyes in a joking way. “Don’t be ridiculous. How are you supposed to get yourself home then? I can drive myself just fine Jon. I guess I’ll be seeing you on Sunday.” 

“Yeah. Sunday it is then. Be careful on your way back.” 

“I’ll be fine. Thank you again for everything. For letting me meet your family and inviting me here.” 

Jon rounded the side of her car door so that they stood on the same side of it and stood right in front of her that she had little room between the car behind her and Jon in front. 

“Of course. I told you they’d love you.” 

_ But do you love me? _

_ Woah, slow down there Daenerys! Slow down.  _ Dany chastised herself. 

“Okay Mr. Right. You were correct this time. Don’t let that get in your head though.” She winked at Jon, who only had the corner of his lips curled up and looked at her with something else in his eyes. It was the same look he wore when she moaned her appreciation for the lava cake. She wondered what was going on his mind. “I’m sorry for that weird thing about me bursting into tears suddenly. Everything else was fine, but it’s like it was that one weird moment.” 

“I already told you don’t be sorry. If my parents aren’t overthinking it, then you shouldn’t either.” He firmly told her, but still held his similar gentleness in it. 

Dany opened her mouth to say something back and ‘argue’ it out with him, when he took the opportunity of her split lips and captured them, causing Dany to stumble back slightly in surprise, her back hitting her car. She felt so warm in his touch, the cool night air breeze no longer a feeling to her as Jon embraced her with his arms around her and his lips on her. She angled her head to deepen it, enjoying the feel of him and them moving together, before they had to pull away. He rested his forehead on hers with their noses touching, as they always did when they pulled away. 

“I guess I’ll see you at your apartment on Sunday.” 

“Yeah. Can’t wait for it.” She allowed herself one more smile and a shorter kiss before ducking her head and getting inside her car and waved at Jon, who made his way to the front door, as she turned on her ignition and drove away. From her rear-view mirror, she could see as Jon opened the door to let himself back inside, and Dany couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face at the thought of the successful night. 

___

As Jon shut the front door, he turned and began whistling some old folk song tune he couldn’t remember the exact words of. He bid his siblings and parents a good night before turning in to his own room, preparing himself to go to sleep. 

As he laid in his bed in the dark, Jon thought of everything about today’s events. He couldn’t help the light and happy mood he was after such a successful dinner with his family and girlfriend. His mood was boosted even more when he heard that Dany was both parent and Arya approved, a big deal for him. He believed in Dany 100% that she would be able to get her charm to work on his family, and it did. He couldn’t be more proud of her. He recalled her as she carried light conversation with Sansa on the couch, Sansa talking to her as if she was Jeyne, their conversation flowing freely. Jon thought of Dany speaking to Robb, and how she chuckled and went along with his stupid jokes that were supposed to be charming. He remembered how she laughed and smiled watching Bran and Rickon argue to each other over their video game, and how she looked so fondly at them as if they were her own little brothers. Seeing Dany talk to his parents, giving her full thanks and appreciation to them made him bubble up inside. He loved how perfect she fit in at the dining table with them eating and engaging in whatever light conversation she was pulled into. How smoothly and honest she answered his parents’ questions. It was a thought that circled around in Jon’s head all night; how right she looked mixed in with his family. As if she belonged with them. 

He loved his family dearly, though he may not have shown it very often. He loved them all so much, he was willing to do anything and everything to protect them.  _ His wolfpack.  _ He felt as if Dany deserved to be part of that pack too. He didn’t care that it might’ve been too seen to be thinking of stuff like this. It wouldn’t do any harm, would it? To indulge in on the fact that he loved seeing Dany comfortable and open with the people that raised him and the people he was raised with. His parents were right; Dany had indeed changed him for the better. She’s influenced him in ways that would never have happened had he never met her. And for that he couldn’t thank her enough. 

When he had asked her to not say the word ‘bet’ again, it was due to the fact that it brought painful reminders to his mind. Painful reminders that reminded him that if she ever found out, everything good that’s happened between them would all go down the drain. And Jon did not want to be reminded of that. Because Jon Snow knew as soon as she left his house and he was left thinking of the day’s events, like the sun coming out of the clouds after a stormy day,  that one thing rang clear in his mind.

He’s already lost the game. 

He lost it the moment he asked her out. The moment he laid eyes upon the world's most beautiful girl.

He was already in love with her. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, so, uh, that happened. 
> 
> I was planning on splitting this into two chapters, but I realized that I already promised the the family meeting would happen in this chapter, so there's where most of the words came from. Dany's happy, Jonerys is doing fine (for now), Jon is beginning to swim towards the deep end (how much longer until he drowns?). Next chapter will be Jon meeting Uncle Aemon and maybe some other fluffy bits as well. It will definitely be under 10k words though. I hope. Unless I have absolutely no self control. Also I think it's worth to mention that Dany's insecurities did not disappear away into thin air, but it's a hurdle that has already been crossed for this story. The entire family dinner scene has me feeling iffy on it, but feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter!
> 
> Next chapter will be up in the next week or so, depending.


	14. There are days I wake up and I pinch myself; you're with me not someone else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon finally meets Dany's uncle, and the exchange doesn't flow as easily as Jon had hoped. Dany and Jon share a cute moment together when he finds someone else talking to his girlfriend. Theon causes trouble, and Jon's faced with a difficult dilemma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who else has seen the new photos of Kit on the set of Black Knight? while i’m definitely he has something new coming up, i can’t help the little stop in my heart seeing him share a kiss with Gemma(?). y’all i understand they’re actors and it’s part of their jobs before i get any hate for saying this, but it kinda just hits somewhere deep seeing him. But definitely happy for his new projects coming up, so I’ll stop and live my Kit Harington dreams through this Jon Snow (because i find it a bit hard to move on from Jonerys and Kimilia). Also, this chapter is pretty much all Jon’s pov. I just thought it made more sense for this one.
> 
> uh anyways, hopefully you enjoy this chapter. I'm probably going to go back sometime and edit some stuff, but I'll just release it as it is.

Jon couldn’t believe it. 

Here he was, anxiously and nervously talking to his girlfriend on the phone about meeting her uncle, and she had the audacity to giggle. 

Fucking  _ giggle!  _

Nevermind how cute she sounded, Jon was currently sitting atop his motorcycle in the parking lot of Dany’s apartment building, his phone to his ear as he stalled himself from heading up. 

_ “You’re being a baby Jon. Just come up here! What could my uncle possibly do to scare you? He won’t even know what you look like! It’s just a simple ‘get to know you’ talk and that’s it. I think meeting your family was like, a thousand times more scarier. You have nothing to be afraid of.”  _ _   
_

_   
_ Jon groaned, looking up at the building to estimate where about Dany’s apartment would be. “That’s it easy for you to say! How could anyone  _ not  _ like you immediately?”    


  
_ “Jon Snow, please get your cowardice butt up here or I swear to gods I will wheel my uncle out there.”  _ _   
_

_   
_ Jon’s eyes went wide. He would have laughed had Dany not sounded so serious. 

“Okay, okay, I’m heading up. I’ll see you there.”    
  


_ “You better.”  _

With that, she clicked off and ended the call, leaving Jon by himself as he opened the door to the building. He made his way to the elevator, smiling politely to the people at the front desk and anybody else who passed by him. Finally, he made it to Dany’s floor. As he rounded the corner, he saw as his girlfriend stood in front of her door, her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised at him. Jon took a deep breath in and out to brace himself, then continued walking towards her. 

“Took you long enough.”    


  
“Nice to see you too Dany.”    


  
She rolled her eyes at his plain ‘hello’. “Now you know how I felt prior to last Friday. Except my situation was way worse.”    
  


Jon scoffed at her claim. “Worse? I doubt it.”    


  
“It was! I had to meet your parents  _ and  _ your five other siblings. That’s seven people total. This is just my uncle. Whom you’ve met before. And is blind.  _ And  _ is wheelchair bound.”    


  
When she put it that way, Jon realized maybe she was right.  _ Maybe.  _ But he didn’t like admitting to losing, so he went on. 

“Oh? Are we playing the pity party now? I’ll have you know, I’m not nearly as likeable as you are-”    


  
“Bullshit!” She cursed at him, which took Jon by complete surprise and a little bit of shock, but then she laughed. “You’re Jon Snow Stark. Everyone loves you. Now stop being such a coward and meet my uncle.” 

She didn’t leave him any room to argue back as she turned back around to open her apartment door. 

_ This is it. No going back now Jon. Just get in there, meet her uncle, talk a bit, then head back out while hopefully still being Dany’s boyfriend. Easy.  _

_ Or you could just turn and book it. She’ll never catch you.  _

No,  _ no. We are not running for the hills. Lest you lose a girlfriend dumbass.  _

He could totally do this. Dany was completely right. He was just meeting her old uncle who’s blind and stuck in a wheelchair. This wasn’t even the first time he’d meet him. Just the first  _ official time.  _ Everything will be alright.

As he followed Dany inside her apartment, he saw her uncle perched in his wheelchair next to the sofa in the living room, facing the small tv. He didn’t know why he was looking at the tv when he couldn’t even see, but he decided it was best to not question it. 

“Hey, Uncle, Jon’s here. Jon, this is my uncle Aemon. Uncle Aemon, this is Jon Stark, my boyfriend.” Dany formally introduced them to each other. 

“Hm, Jon Stark, is it?” Her uncle asked. His voice sounded slightly raspy from age. 

“Yes Sir.”  _ What the hell was he supposed to call him again?  _ _   
_

_   
_ “Please, have a sit. Right here.” He patted down softly the couch next to him. Jon approached the sofa carefully, not wanting to do something sudden and mess something up. Behind him, Dany followed, taking the seat next to Jon. Her uncle maneuvered his wheelchair so that it was positioned to face Jon squarely. For a moment, he stared at Jon, leaving him profoundly uncomfortable, what with his milky white eyes staring at him, though he knew the old man could not see. It still felt all the same though. 

“So you are Jon Stark. The boy who’s courting my niece.”

Jon inwardly cringed at his use of the word ‘boy’. It made them sound less...serious than they (or at least he believed) were. But he knew better than to say something about it. 

“Yes, I am.”    


  
He nodded in response, then leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. 

_ Why does he make me feel like I’m under investigation as a suspect or something?  _

“Tell me, what are your plans with her? Intentions, I think is a better way of putting it. What are your intentions with my niece?” 

Jon chanced a brief glance to Dany, who only looked at him, curious as to what his answer may be. He took a deep breath to calm himself before answering. 

“I have no harmful intentions. The only thing I intend to do with your niece is make her happy. Maybe even the happiest. I don’t...I understand what she’s been through in the past, and that isn’t something I would ever do to her. I don’t want her to experience the pain she felt growing up. I only want for her to be happy.”    


  
He didn’t say anything to Jon after that, content to let the information process through his mind instead. Then he turned to Dany. 

“Tell me my sweet; how does he look like?”    


  
Jon turned to Dany, wondering what she would say about him. Her eyes flashed upwards to meet his for a brief second as a smile warmed her face. 

“He’s very... comely, I guess is a way of putting it. Quite pale, but not like sickly pale. He has dark black, curly hair that he always tries to keep in order. He’s got a bit of a widow’s peak going on at the top of his forehead. He has really pretty grey eyes that sometimes get really dark they look black. He likes to pout a lot, but when he’s happy, his smile is really pretty.”    


  
Jon refused to blush at her words of choice to describe his looks, so he settled for looking straight at her uncle, who nodded at her description of him. He briefly wondered how he looked in her Uncle Aemon’s mind based off of what she said. 

“And what of how he acts? To you and to others?”    


  
“Oh, he’s very kind to me. Jon here is very patient and understanding with everything. He’s kind of a... ladies’ man,” Dany bit back a smile and winked at Jon, who dropped his jaw slightly at that. “But he’s loyal. He’s never done anything that would cause me to question him. He’s got a ton of friends, so he’s popular all around, not just with the girls. Sometimes he’s a bit of an enigma to me, but I think it’s definitely worth staying and unlocking some of those secrets.”    


  
_ Is she saying this because she thinks it’s the truth or because I’m right in front of her? Godsdammit Dany, do you have any idea what you do to me sometimes?  _

“He sounds like quite the catch you’ve got there.” There was something warm about the way he said it. Was this is a sign that he was beginning to like him? Jon hoped so.

“Hm, he is.” She hummed, suppressing a giggle. 

“A young comely man, kind and patient and accepting.. He sounds like a good match.” The elder man nodded to himself, and Jon didn’t know whether he was speaking to him or himself. 

Jon let his hopes begin to rise as it sounded as if he’d gotten the older man’s approval. But he should’ve known that it wouldn’t be that easy to date someone as special as Daenerys Targaryen. 

“He sounds like how you described the other one.”    


  
_ The other one. Drogo. Oh no. _

Dany swallowed nervously. “He’s nothing like Drogo, Uncle. He’s different. Way different. I’ve-I’ve met his family. Two days ago. I trust him and I know he would never hurt me like Drogo did.” 

“And how would you know Daenerys? He could very well be faking it all. Did he not fake it last time? For all I know, he might be the one to finish off what the last one started.”    


  
“Uncle! Jon would never do that.”    


  
Dany and her Uncle were both at obvious odds with one another over Jon, who, mind you, was sitting right there in front of them. Jon appreciated Dany trying to defend him from her uncle, but he felt this was something he needed to discuss with the elder man by himself. He couldn’t say he blamed her uncle for being so skeptical of him. If he were in his position, and some man wanted to date his daughter after she’s so nearly been taken against her will by a different one, he wouldn’t let just anyone near her again. He placed a gentle hand on Dany’s forearm and looked at her and softly shook his head. She looked as if she was going to argue back with him, but she backed down. 

_ Okay. This is either going to go really well, or go straight to shit. Please be the former.  _

“Uh, Sir? I would like to speak for myself, if I may.” 

“You may.”    


  
“I understand why you might be so skeptical of me. It’s completely well within your right to do so. If I were in your position, I would be skeptical as well. However, I wish there was something I could do to prove to you that I care for your niece and I wouldn’t ever dream of causing her any type of pain. She’s gone through too much of it already. I’m aware of what happened to her family. To her parents and her older brothers. I have a pretty large family of my own. I don’t know that I would be able to survive it if they were all taken away from me too. I…” 

Jon hesitated.  _ Is this even a good idea?  _ He didn’t know if it would do any good. He’d never told anyone. Only his family knew of this. Nobody outside of those in his house knew of this. Not Theon, not Beric, not Edd, nor Ygritte, or Val. Not even Dany. But if he were to disclose this, would it change anything? How would Dany feel if she were to find out that he’d kept one of his deepest secrets away from her, when she’d told him all of hers?  _ You were right Dany. I am a coward.  _

By now, Dany was looking at him with concern written all over her features at his sudden silence. Her uncle as well was looking towards him. Jon wondered, not for the first time, how he would see him if he could actually see. 

“I had an aunt. She was-she was like my best friend to me. We lost her four years ago due to a car accident. I understand that was how one of Dany’s brothers, uh, Viserys I think, passed. I haven’t told anyone about her. Nobody other than my family knows. But if this piece of information in any way helps convince you that I have a brief understanding of what Dany’s been through, then I think it’s worth telling you about it.” 

Jon refused to look at Dany next to him, whose arm moved over to his left forearm and was squeezing gently. She didn’t want to see the look in her eyes. The gentle arm comforting his gave him slight comfort in the fact that she wasn’t angry with him, but if he were to look in her eyes, he might see something he wouldn’t like. Betrayal, pity, anger... He thought it best not to look for the time being. They’ll talk about it a different time. 

  
After what felt like the longest pause of silence ever, he spoke 

“I see. And I understand as well. You understand Dany’s pain better than most. You know how it feels to lose someone. It’s a grief that doesn’t ever truly go away… Jon Stark, my niece was orphaned at 6 years old. Had it not been for me, she’d have spent her life growing up in foster homes, going from place to place and never knowing a true home. She needs people who can stay grounded with her, help her. I’ve helped her as much as I possibly could. I still try to. But I’ve reached an age where she’s the one that has to help me. But I’ll try to protect her as much as I still can. Hence why I’m asking you all this. I’m not going to ask you to tell me what it is you see in her. We could be here a very long time. But I know your intentions now. I can feel from here your genuity. All I ever want for my Dany is to be happy with her life. To find what she’s passionate about and stick with it and to do what makes her happy. And I can feel the young love between you two blossoming. It has potential to be something greater, I know it. So with this, I give you my blessing Jon Stark. It is my wish that you continue to uphold your promises and intentions with her.”

Jon couldn’t believe. Her uncle actually approved of him! He would’ve thought he’d had to go through multiple series of tests for him to get to this point. 

“I-... Thank you, Sir.”    


He shook his head at him. “Call me Aemon.” 

Jon bit back a small smile. “Thank you.. Aemon.”    


  
It felt strange and foreign on his tongue to address Dany’s uncle by his first name, but he’s just glad he’s gotten his approval. Next to him, Dany seemed equally as happy as he. 

“Thank you Uncle.” She moved over to give him a hug, which was returned with a jolly smile and a pat on her arm. 

“No need to thank me sweetling. Just be happy for me, okay? Now, if you would please, I’d like to settle down for a nap now.”    


  
“Oh, yeah, of course. Uh,” Dany looked to Jon, a question in her eyes. “I’ll go help him into bed really quickly. Can you.. Can you stay and talk a little bit?”    


  
Jon sighed, his eyes flashing down to the floor before looking back up at her. “Yeah, I’ll wait here.”    


  
She nodded quickly, then walked over behind her uncle’s wheelchair and pushed him, walking off to the hallway and turning to what Jon presumed was Aemon’s room. He heard the door softly shut, and he was left on his own. He had a feeling he knew what it was that Dany wanted to talk about. The good news, perhaps. But also probably his deceased aunt that he’d never spoken about. 

It wasn’t long before he heard the door open then close quietly again, and she was pattering back to him. For a brief moment, she stood awkwardly in front of him near the couch and they looked at each other, both unsure of what to say. 

  
“Uh, can I get you anything to drink?” She swung her arms back and forth a little, most likely to alleviate some of the tension in the room. 

“No, I’m good. Thank you.” Jon declined. Though he probably should’ve taken the offer up. He had a feeling the following conversation would leave him feeling a little dry mouthed. Dany nodded, then took a tentative seat next to him on the couch, a little farther than he would have liked. 

“Dany, I-”    


  
“Sh, I know.” She interrupted him, scooting a little closer to him to place her hands over his. “I knew about your aunt. I found out a couple days ago.”    


  
_ How? How would she have known? Wait, a couple days ago? Like on Friday night? Shit, who told her?!  _ _   
  
_

“H-how?” He hated how weak he sounded and how he was put in such a vulnerable position.    


  
“Your parents. When your parents pulled me aside to talk, they told me about what happened four years ago. How you and your aunt Lyanna were so close with each other. And when the accident happened. Jon, I’m so sorry. I didn’t-” 

“No.” He cut her off, maybe a bit harsher than necessary. He saw from the corner of his eye Dany wince. But he couldn’t help it. Why had his parents told her? He never gave them that right to go parading around that information. He never told anyone for a reason, dammit. What right did his parents think they have to be telling their son’s secrets to anyone they so choose to tell? It was  _ his  _ secret to tell, and his alone. 

“Jon-”    


  
“They shouldn’t have told you. That was  _ my  _ thing to tell not theirs!” He knew he wasn’t being fair to her by lashing out. But hell, he was upset because it wasn’t fair to him either. 

“Not so loud.” She quietly seethed at him through biting teeth. Jon grimaced as he remembered that her uncle was just in the other room taking a nap. He stepped up and away from the couch, pacing the floor instead. 

“They don’t have that right to tell you Dany. I should’ve been the one to decide when you got to know. I should’ve had a say in what they told you about  _ me.”  _ He was quieter this time, but the anger in his tone didn’t leave. “I didn’t give them that right. I didn’t say anything about it for a reason. I didn’t want anybody to know. At least not yet. I wasn’t ready to say anything about it.” 

He was frustrated. It wasn’t fair of his parents to disclose it. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that they told me without asking you about it first. But I had no control over it. They chose to tell me it. I didn’t say anything about, how could I? I would never have known. But were you ever going to tell me, Jon? Or were you just going to hide it from me? I told you everything about me, and yet you couldn’t tell me this really important thing about you? Wasn’t it you who said that we should be more open with each other? That we should be more honest and communicate better? Or was I the only one that was supposed to follow that rule? I don’t want to get upset, but it isn’t fair that you’re getting angry with me for something your parents did on their own.” 

_ Well fuck.  _ He was getting berated by his girlfriend. And for a very good reason. Suddenly, he deflated, his pacing steps faltering until they stopped altogether. She was right. Here he was, complaining like a child that it wasn’t fair his parents said something without his permission, when he was here getting upset with Dany for knowing something she couldn’t control.  _ When will I ever stop fucking up with her? Or just in general?  _

“I…” He sighed, then took a step forward towards her place in front of the couch. “Fuck, Dany I’m sorry. I know I’m acting like a child, and I’m sorry.” He reached her, close enough to her that she had to tilt her head to properly look at him. “Can we sit down for this?” 

She nodded, taking her seat back on the couch as he took his, this time closer to each other that their thighs were touching. She looked at him expectantly, urging him to start explaining. 

“I didn’t want you to know because… because I’m a prideful coward. I don’t want you or anybody to see me as weak because of my grief over my aunt. I guess I’ve just been so accustomed to hiding it these past years with other things, a lot of them being bad choices. I didn’t know what to do when I met you. Especially when you told me of your family. Part of me just wanted to lock it all away and forget it ever happened and continue on with everything as they were. And I guess that’s what I did. I didn’t know how to stop it when I met you. And I’m  _ not _ just saying this because I want to get back on your good side.” 

She didn’t say anything for a moment, and part of him wanted to reach inside the depths of her brain and see for himself what she was thinking about all of this. But he also feared a bit that it would be too complicated for him to process and handle. Then, she scooted in even closer, wrapping her right arm under his left one until her right cheek was resting on his arm. 

“You’re an idiot sometimes.” 

Jon breathed out a laugh. “Yeah. I know.” 

“I could and would never see you as anything less than you are because you have the shadows of grief and pain following you around. We’re humans, Jon. We’re not supposed to be perfect. We’re meant to have our flaws. Anybody who thinks it’s weird for you to show your emotions is a fool. They’re the lowest of humans. And while I’m hurt that you didn’t want me to know-”    


  
“I did want you to know, I was just scared-”    
  


_ “And while I am _ slightly hurt that you were scared to tell me something like this, I understand. I understand how terrifying it is to tell someone something so personal and deep to you. And I wish it was you who told me about your aunt on your own terms. I get that it wasn’t fair of your parents to just spill it like that. But I’m glad I know. It helps me know more about who you truly are. I want you to know I accept you as you truly are. As Jon. Not Jon Snow Stark, popular, dumb, jock boy who vapes and drinks at parties and has all the ladies on their arm. But just Jon. The one who bickers and laughs with his siblings, cares genuinely about other people, and has his flaws and mistakes. I want  _ that  _ Jon to be my boyfriend. Not the other one.” 

_ If we’re all humans that have flaws, then you must be some fucking angel Daenerys.  _ He was dead certain that she was trying to wriggle her way deep into his heart and stay there, leaving a hole wide open just for her. He didn’t think he could have loved her more.  _ Love.  _ He was definitely screwed. But he couldn’t tell her that. Why? Because he was a stubborn piece of shit. 

“You must not be human then.” He teased her lightly, earning him pink tinted cheeks and a cute smile. 

“Not the point.”    


  
“No, but you brought it up. Had to say something about it. Besides, I think it’s pretty damn close to being true.” He felt his eyes crinkle from him smiling so much at her bashfulness. However, it was getting off topic, and he didn’t want to leave much unaddressed, so he decided to sober up. “You don’t know how much your words mean to me Dany. Really, I… it means a lot. I don’t know what else to say honestly. I guess I’m just so used to hiding it that I don’t really know how to… unhide it. Thank you.”    


  
“You don’t have to thank me. It’s just the truth.” 

He shook his head, grinning like a madman as he pulled her in closer to him, closing off the conversation by capturing her lips with his. She hummed with content, angling her head differently and pressing in deeper. Just as he was about to lay back on the couch so to have her lay on top of him, she pulled away, much to his disappointment. His face must have showed it as well when she gave a small chuckle. 

“You’re a baby.”    


  
“Does that mean you’re calling me cute?” 

“No, it means I’m calling you immature.”    


  
Jon dropped his jaw as low as he could in his current position. “I am not.”    


  
“Yes you are. Now shut up and kiss me.”    


  
And kiss her he did. 

___

He’d like to say that things were going great. Splendid even. Especially between him and Dany. It’d been a little over a week since he’d met her uncle, and things have been going very smoothly since then. His parents had even asked him when they’d be able to see Dany again for a second time. Things were going great. 

Until one Thursday morning. 

He’d just finished grabbing the books he’d need for his classes later on, and was on his way to meet Dany up at her locker. When he saw  _ them.  _ Or, more specifically,  _ him.  _

Some short and scrawny kid with light brown hair and large, rectangular glasses had the audacity, the  _ fucking audacity,  _ to look all cozy next to  _ his  _ girlfriend next to her locker. Jon was about ready to murder the guy as soon as he saw him, his bony arm supporting the (probably non existent) weight of his body with it on the locker as he talked some irrelevant shit to Dany, who was pretending to act interested in what he had to say. 

_ Whatever you do, stay calm.  _

“Dany, hey.” He got her (and his) attention, turning to face him. 

“Hi Jon.” She greeted him with a smile, which he made a big show of placing a kiss on, taking her by the waist to bring her in to him.  _ That’ll give him the message.  _

When they pulled away, the kid was still there standing in front them, watching.    


  
“Who’s this?” He nodded to the other guy. 

“Uh, this is…” Jon suppressed a smirk and a laugh at Dany forgetting the name of the guy she was even talking to.    


  
“Jordan. I’m Jordan. Nice to meet you. Wait, you’re Jon Snow Stark right? Like, the one that everyone always talks about? Oh wow, anyways that’s cool, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s really cool to meet you.”    
  


He and Dany both shared a look of faint amusement and being slightly ‘weirded out’. 

“Oh. Uh, okay. Are you new around here or something?” Jon couldn’t say he’d ever seen this kid around before, but then again, he’d never seen Dany before and she’d been under his nose the entire time. But the kid nodded vigorously. 

“Yup. I’m a transfer. Moved here just a couple weeks ago. I’m a sophomore. Anyways, people always seem to talk about you. I’ve seen you once before, but I’ve never met you. They talk about you like you’re some sort of celebrity or something.”    


  
“Okay.” He nodded as if he understood what he was saying, but really, he just wanted him to leave. “Uh, what are you doing here?” He tried to ask the question as light as possible. 

“Oh I was talking to Danrys-”    


  
“It’s actually  _ Daenerys-”  _

“Sorry. Uh, I was talking to her because I wanted to expand my new social groups. I don’t have many friends here, so I thought it’d be good to meet her. She seemed nice enough. And pretty. Like  _ really  _ pretty. Are you two friends or something?”    


  
At that, he looked to Dany next to him, his eyes widening out of the weirdness in front of him right now. Her eyes briefly flashed wide before turning back to the kid. 

“She’s my girlfriend, in case you didn’t know from the ‘gossip’ that you’ve already seemed to hear.” 

The kid, Jordan, looked back and forth between him and Dany before settling his eyes on him again, this time looking slightly dejected. 

“Oh. Well, sorry about that. I did not know. I’ll-I’ll be on my way now. It was nice to meet you both.” He nodded at them then turned away, walking very quickly away from them. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Dany started chuckling, to which he joined in. 

“I feel kinda bad to be honest.” She said after her laughter had subsided a bit. “And I’m not laughing because of him, or whatever. Just how weird and awkward that exchange was.”    


  
Jon could not say the same however. He thought it the kid was pretty funny and kind of weird. 

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” she said, coming over and placing a hand on his chest. “But I feel like you looked pretty angry when you came over here. Something wrong?”    


  
He forget then why he had stalked over here the way he had. He traced back his steps in his mind until he recalled why. Then he was just embarrassed. 

“Was I? I don’t think I was. You’re probably just imagining things.”    


  
“So now you’re accusing me of hallucinating.”    


  
“I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just saying I don’t remember looking angry and that’s probably because I wasn’t.”    


  
Dany, however, did not look convinced with his lie. She raised both her eyebrows at him. “Mhm? Soo, you  _ weren’t _ jealous?”    


  
At that, Jon felt himself go pink. “Jealous? What? Me? You think I got jealous? Oh, no, sweetheart I don’t get jealous. So, uh, you must’ve-”    


  
He stopped blubbering when her eyebrows remained high on her head, indicating that she was not convinced whatsoever. 

“Fine. I wasn’t  _ jealous,  _ per say. I was just.. weirded out seeing him look so close to you.”    


  
Dany rolled her eyes and shook her head. “As I’ve stated before: you can be really stupid sometimes, Jon Snow. There’s nothing to be jealous about.”    


  
“I wasn’t jealous!”    


  
“Okay, you big baby. You saw and met the guy. He weirded me out as well. There’s nothing to be worried about. Nobody could compare to you, Jon. I’m with you, remember.” She finished sweetly. 

Had he not been pouting like a child, he would have kissed her, but he was, so he didn’t. 

“But when you act like a child I may just ditch you for Jordan over there.” 

He quickly straightened up and put his normal face back on. 

___

With the final bell of the day ringing, Jon made his way to his locker to put everything back in his locker and take a couple of things out to put in his backpack to take home. Football practice had been postponed to a little later in the evening. Dany had texted him that she had a brief meeting with one of her teachers, and that she would meet up with him soon enough. Jon muttered to himself as he pulled and placed things in and out of his locker. Once he was finished and close it shut, he was met with an unwelcome sight behind his locker door. 

“The hell do you want, Theon?” He groaned inwardly, knowing he would not like whatever conversation would ensue with this guy. Prior to current events, Jon had done a pretty good job of keeping Theon far away from him (and Dany.) 

“Just wanna talk. You’ve been ignoring me lately. I thought we were friends, Jon?”    


  
He scoffed. “Then you thought wrong. I’m not talking to you for a reason.” 

“And what reason is that?”    


  
“I want you to leave me the fuck alone.” He deadpanned, moving to walk past Theon, who stopped him. 

“Well doesn’t that just hurt my feelings.”    


  
“Leave me alone Theon.” Jon gritted out through clenched teeth. He hoped to the gods that Theon would listen, else this would just end badly for the both of them. 

“Not until we talk Snow.” He was up close to Jon by now that he could smell his vape-scented and what he was pretty sure was weed, breath. He cringed. “Since when have you started talking all fancy shmancy with an accent?”,   


  
Jon narrowed his eyes. “What?” 

“It’s because of her, isn’t it? It’s because of her that you’ve turned into this goody two shoes little boy who’s turned his back on his friends. What did she do to you anyways? She that good under the sheets?-”    


  
“You don’t get to talk about her like that!”    


  
“Oh, and you do?”    


  
“Shut the fuck up and leave if you have any brain left up there, Greyjoy.” 

“No,  _ you  _ shut the fuck up and listen to what I have to say. You haven’t paid me back yet, so that’s $400 I’m missing from you Snow.” 

“I’m not paying you jack shit.” It took every single fibre of Jon’s being to control himself. People were already beginning to look their way, and the last thing he wanted was for people to record the conversation and Dany finding out somehow. 

“We shook on it! Aren’t you supposed to be a daddy’s boy and be a man of your word? I know for a fact that you’re loaded with money, Jon. So just pay up.” 

“A game! It was a game, Theon! Why can’t you just let it go?! It was never supposed to be a serious thing!”    


  
“Yeah? Fine, don’t pay me. Your little blondie will pay with her heart.”    


  
At that, Jon saw red suddenly and before he knew it, he had Theon’s shirt fisted in his hands as he backed him up  _ hard  _ against the lockers behind him. Around them, he heard the murmurs and whispers of any people left after school, who they most certainly have the attention of now. 

_ “I warned you to stay far away from her.”  _ He whispered to him, his voice spilling with contempt and lethalness.    


  
“Threaten me all you want Jon. It won’t change the fact that she’ll find out eventually. You really expect to go on like everything’s fine and dandy between you two?! You really wanna go on and just lie about everything?! You think you’re starting to act like the good guy here Jon, but truth is, we’re both just as bad. What do you think she’s gonna do when she finds out you’ve lied to her this entire time, huh? You really think she’ll stay with you?! You must be one stupid son of a bitch if you think that!”    


  
“ _ Shut up!”  _

He didn’t know when exactly he struck, but the next thing Jon knew, his right fist was stinging ever so slightly from the hard punch delivered to Theon’s jaw. His blood was coursing and pumping through his veins quickly, his heart pounding in his chest hard in his chest, hard enough he could hear it in his ears, as his fists collided along his ex-friend’s face. He heard and felt the attention of the gathering people around them, cheering him on, saw the bright flashes of cameras out of the corner of his eyes, the phones out and recording the entire event, but he couldn’t find it in him to stop. The only thing he could focus on was silencing Theon’s mouth, quite possibly for good. Every clash of contact brought satisfaction to Jon, if only slightly.

The poor guy was writhing under Jon’s harsh beats. He felt the wet sense of blood on his knuckles as his mind began to register the red liquid coming from Theon’s nose and messing his face up. But he couldn’t stop. No matter what he tried to tell himself. No matter which one of his poor peers tried to pull him off, he couldn’t stop. It’s what he deserved. For talking about Dany, for disrespecting her, for threatening to tell her everything.  _ Jon Snow Stark  _ was  _ not  _ a man to threatened. 

His entire hearing had gone mute, everything else background voices and noises. He could hear someone familiar calling him, but he didn’t pay any mind to it. Until he raised up his left hand and someone grabbed it, pulling him back roughly away from Theon, who slumped to the floor, clutching his face. 

_ “Jon! Stop it!”  _

Jon’s vision adjusted back, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of people around him. Were there usually this many people after school? He looked up to see who had pulled him away from pummeling Theon completely into the ground. 

_ “Jon?!”  _

“Dany?”    


  
She was looking at him, her eyes wide as saucers as she held his face in her hands to prevent him from stumbling away. His breathing was uneven as he continued to breathe heavily and deeply, his senses overwhelmed. He held her hands on his face, clutching onto them as he tried to calm himself. 

“Jon, what’s going on here?!”

She pulled her hands away from him, placing them stiffly at her side, causing him to stumble forward since his weight was placed forward towards her. His gaze went up from the floor to meet her eyes, and he didn’t think he’d ever been more horrified to see into the purple violet orbs. The eyes that usually held so much mirth, softness, happiness and affection for him were widened with anger and fear.  _ At me? Is she scared of me?  _ _   
_

_   
_ “Dany-”    


  
“Tell me what’s going on here!” 

And then his heart was back to pounding as hard as drums beneath his rib cage. He couldn’t lie to her, he’d lied too many times already. But he couldn’t tell her the truth. Anything  _ but  _ the truth.  _ Please let her stay mine…  _

“Not here. Somewhere quieter.”    


  
She looked as if she was about to protest, her mouth parting to speak. But then she shut it, taking a glance around at the people who were currently talking, flashing pictures, and taking videos of them all at once. She nodded slightly, and he sighed in relief. He knew she would at least understand his need to get away from the attention. As they walked off, some people tried to follow them, but one deadly glare from was all it took for them to back off, turning to try and help Theon, who was currently flipping off whoever tried to help him and told them he could do it himself, up from the ground instead.

Once they were safely away from prying eyes and sneaky ears, she glared at him again. 

“Tell me what’s going on with you, and I want you to tell me the truth!” 

Jon flinched, completely unused to her tone. It was either shy and quiet, or cute and giggly. But it was never angry or scared. Not like this. 

“Theon said something stupid and I-I got mad.”    


  
She looked like she didn’t believe him for one second. She shook her head, unwilling to believe. “And what exactly did he say that caused you to practically break his nose?”

It was a lose-lose situation no matter what. 

No matter what he said, he’d either be lying or he’d lose her. He didn’t want to do either.  _ Why, why did I not just walk away?  _ He had to listen to his fucking temper. If he hadn’t, maybe he wouldn’t be in this position. He wouldn’t be faced with such a difficult dilemma.

“Dany-”    


  
“I’m  _ serious,  _ Jon. No more lies.” Her voice was hardened with steel, absolutely no room for him to beg her to talk about this another time. 

Because he knew no matter what path he took, he’s going to end up hurting the one he loves anyways. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tough. 
> 
> Hopefully you're still sticking with me though. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm kind of iffy on it, so I might go back and change a few things (but nothing major though). 
> 
> See you on the next one!


	15. I have always been a fortress, cold secrets deep inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon deals with the consequences of his actions following his fight with Theon. Dany and Missy have another girl's talk that leads to Dany questioning her feelings. Jon begins to worry when Dany doesn't show up to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bunch of dialogue scenes ahead. enjoy!

_ “Jon! Stop it!”  _

_ “Dany?”  _

_ “Tell me what’s going on with you, and I want you to tell me the truth!”  _

_ “Dany-”  _

_ “I’m serious, Jon. No more lies.” _

Dany looked at him expectantly, growing impatient. To say that she was terrified to see her boyfriend beating his supposed ‘friend’s’ face in was an understatement. She had exited the classroom after meeting with her teacher about a few things, when she’d heard the loud yells and cheers coming from the hallway. She’d wondered what was happening, and was close to just leaving, not wanting to get caught up in any trouble or chaos. But when she’d heard someone yell “ _ Jon!”,  _ she began to wonder what was going on. When she rounded the corner to see a crowd gathered over what seemed like two boys fighting, one of them being a head full of black curly hair that she immediately recognized, she’d panicked slightly. 

She continued looking at him as he stared off, not saying a thing. She didn’t know whether he was trying to figure out a lie to say to her or was genuinely shaken by what he did to his friend. Questions were flying left and right through her brain. What had happened that caused him to do such a violent and rash act? What did Theon say that caused such a reaction? Was he even using his head when he fought? Did he not realize how both lucky and unlucky he is that no teachers or staff caught them, but the entire fight was recorded by the surrounding students?

“I wasn’t in the right state of mind. I wasn’t thinking correctly. When he started saying things about you, I lost it. I couldn’t let him get away thinking it was okay.” 

“And what did he say Jon? What did he say exactly?”  _ By the gods Jon Snow, you are something else sometimes.  _

He hesitated to answer at first, his mouth opening then closing, before opening again. “He kept pushing me, saying how you must’ve been ‘really good in the sheets’ to get me to change into how I am. He… before, he used to say that he wanted me to leave you so that he could have a turn with you too. I’ve had enough of it. I wasn’t going to let him walk away without doing anything.” 

Dany shook her head softly at this. Somewhere, the comments stung her a bit, for someone to think so horribly of her hurt. But for Jon’s sake, she wished it didn’t have to affect her at all. He must’ve seen her reaction to it to, as he frowned, sadness and a slight, dark anger in his eyes. 

“Even if they were rude remarks, Jon, it doesn’t mean you should go blind with rage and start a fight. What he said wasn’t right Jon, but neither was what you did. People were recording it. You could get in some serious trouble for what you did if the staff gets ahold of it.” 

He nodded numbly, and she could see the tiredness in him, the way his shoulders slumped forward slightly, his eyes falling to the ground. This Jon was completely different from the one she’d spotted earlier. She was far more used to this one, though in different circumstances. She hated to admit it, but she couldn’t help the twinge of fear she’d felt seeing Jon so violent. She’d never seen him like that before. He was always kind and patient, just as she’d always described.  _ Never like that.  _ She stepped forward and placed her hand on his cheek, which he immediately leaned into. 

“I’m sorry Dany.”    


  
She shook her head. “Just don’t do it again.”    


  
She couldn’t help but shake the feeling off that there may have been more to the fight than what he’s letting on, but she decided she didn’t want to push him on it anymore. He looked tired and guilty enough as it is, she didn’t want to add on to it. Maybe she’ll invite Missy over later to talk about it. Dany only hoped that Jon wouldn’t get into some serious trouble over defending her honor.

“Go home, Jon. Get some rest before your practice later. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

She left him with that and a peck on the cheek, needing to make it home soon. She walked away, completely unaware of the flurry of fear and horror going on in his mind.

___

“And he was just punching him in the face? Just like that?”   


  
“Yeah. I didn’t know what to do at first. I’ve never seen him like that.”    
  


Missy had come over shortly after Dany texted her as she got home, and they’d been talking discussing the day’s events once she did. 

“He said it was because Theon was saying all this shit about me, and I guess it pushed him. I just wish it didn’t.” Dany thought back to her and Jon’s conversation. “I feel like there’s something he isn't telling me though. It doesn’t add up. I know he probably did it to ‘defend my honor’ or whatever, but I feel like it wasn’t enough to warrant that bad of a reaction for him.”

Missy didn’t say anything for a moment, most likely thinking about her words. Jon wasn’t  _ usually _ a hot head, so it  _ had  _ to have been something major to set him off. _ But what was it, was the question? _

“Hold on, did you say people were recording it?” Dany nodded. Missy pulled put her phone and tapped on it a few times before scrolling on it. Dany pinched her brows together, confused about what she was doing. She went around so that she was sitting next to Missy and saw what she was doing on her phone. She was scrolling through her Instagram, and it dawned on Dany that she was probably looking for the video that people who were recording would have  _ definitely  _ posted. 

“Oh my gods, is it this?”

She thrusted her phone forward to show Dany. She was met with the screen showing exactly the scene she’d seen earlier of Jon and Theon. 

“Yeah, that one.” 

“Oh my gods, that’s brutal!” Missy exclaimed, wide eyed as she turned the phone back to her to watch for herself. “I’ve never seen him like that.” 

“Me neither.” Dany sat on her bed and brought her knees up to her chest, her back leaning against the wall behind her. “Can you hear anything they’re saying?”

To her dismay, Missy shook her head. “No. There’s too much talking behind the camera and cheers. I can’t hear what Jon’s saying, but it looks like he’s whispering something to Theon.” 

Dany sighed. She was hoping the video would let her hear the fight, but sadly not. She couldn't help but feel disappointed. 

“Why don’t you just ask him?” 

“I have. He told me what I told you.” 

“Then maybe that’s all there is to it.” 

Dany sighed again. “Maybe.” 

Perhaps she was just being paranoid again. They’d talked multiple times about being honest and open with each other already, she knew Jon wouldn’t lie to her like that again. She had to trust him, and she did.

“Okay, then let’s talk about something else now. We’ll bury that topic far into the ground.” 

Dang agreed, as it was in her mind to change the subject already. Suddenly, a forethought came into her mind, and she decided she should just come out and ask it.

“Missy?”

“Hm?”

“Have… have you and Grey said ‘I love you’ already?” Dany internally cringed at her question. It sounded so stupid to ask out loud. She wasn’t sure if it was something that she shouldn’t ask, something that should be kept private between the Missy and Grey only. Even if they’ve been dating for a little less time than Dany and Jon, Dany thinks of them as a concrete forever couple.  _ Does she and Jon have the same? _

“No, not yet.” 

“But do you feel it?”

Missy nodded immediately. “Yeah. I know in the deepest part of my heart that I do. And I like to think that he feels the same.” 

“But how do you know if you love him or not? What if you just really like him a lot?” 

Missy smiled warmly at her, joining her on her bed and taking a sit with her legs crossed over each other. Dany had a feeling her friend knew what she was really trying to ask.

“I just knew. There’s no tell-tale sign that says ‘this is when you say ‘I love you’’. You just  _ know  _ it. You feel it in your heart and everywhere else in your body. Even when you’re just thinking of them. But especially when you’re  _ with  _ them. That’s when it’s highest.” 

Dany pondered over that for a minute. She certainly felt  _ very  _ strongly for Jon. She got the weird, fluttery and bubbly feeling in her stomach whenever they were together. It was even accompanied with the little tug at her heart as well. It was especially prominent when he laughs or smiles, especially when his smile was because of her. But was any of it enough to call it love? 

“I’m assuming you and Jon haven’t said anything to each other yet on this.

“We haven’t.” Dany confirmed.

Missy prodded a little bit more. “But you think you might be feeling it?” 

“I don’t know if it is, or if he just makes me really happy. I don’t know the difference.” Dany admitted. She didn’t understand why it was so hard to decipher. She knew she loved her uncle Aemon, and she knew she loved Missy like a sister. But those were different types of love. 

“If he makes you really happy, then you might. But it's not definite. Only you’ll be able to know if you do.” 

“What if it’s too soon? I don’t want to rush anything.  _ I’m _ the reason we agreed to go slowly.” She felt it’s be hypocritical of her to be the one who rushes their relationship. 

“Love doesn’t wait for several months to pass. It comes when it comes. If you feel it, don’t deny it. Don’t push it away. I think we’ve both read plenty of books to know that only bad things happen when you deny your feelings for someone.” 

“This isn’t a book, Missandei. I don’t have a narrator or an author telling me what I should do next, or what’s going to happen in the end.” 

“No, you don’t. That’s just how life is. We never know what’s going to happen next. That’s part of the reason why people miss out on so much. Because they’re too afraid to take a risk and move things along on their own.” 

“But even if I do feel it, what if Jon doesn’t feel the same, and I end up scaring him away or something?” 

“Honey, I don’t think you could ever scare that man away. It just doesn’t seem plausible. And I doubt Jon wouldn’t reciprocate it. But you’ll never know unless you just go for it. Remember what I said; don’t miss out on important moments in your life because you’re too afraid of what  _ might  _ happen. We only get one chance Dany. Might as well make it worthwhile.” 

Why does love have to be so complicated? Sometimes Dany wished there  _ was  _ a tell-tale sign that tells her if she actually is in love, just so she didn’t have to go through all this work and headache to figure out herself. 

“Once you and Grey have grandkids, you’re going to be the wisest grandmother Westeros has seen.” Dany laughed as she teased her friend. Missy laughed with her, shaking her head.

“Let’s get through high school first. Then we’ll talk about that.” 

___

_ Knock knock knock _

The door to his bedroom was knocked and Jon looked over his shoulder from his desk to see who it was. Robb poked his head in, his face looking grim. 

“Mom and Dad wanna talk to you. They’re in the kitchen.” 

_ Well shit. That does not sound good.  _

Robb left his room, closing his door behind him and leaving Jon alone. He had a good feeling he knew what his parents wanted to talk to him about. He left his room and made his way down the stairs, going into the kitchen just as his brother said. In there, he was met with his parents both sitting on the dining table, looking stern and serious. He gulped down the nervous lump in his throat. Tentatively, Jon took the seat diagonal of his parents, since they both sat at one end of the table at the head of it. They didn’t say anything at first, making him sit uncomfortably and awkwardly under their scrutiny. 

“The school contacted us.” 

Jon fought to keep from groaning. He knew they would. The video that the students had recorded of him managed to make its way in the hands of one of the staff, who reported it. The principal had talked to him earlier today. He didn’t say much, just the same that he said to Dany. And he’ll say the same again to his parents.  _ Nobody can know.  _

“What happened Jon?” His mother asked.

“You already know what happened.” He replied, rather coldly. 

“We want to hear it from you. Answer the question, son.” Ned Stark asked of him.

“I got into a fight with Theon. He said some disrespectful things about Dany and I wasn’t about to let him walk away thinking it was okay to do it. So I put him in his place. I warned him once not to say or do anything and he didn’t listen. He got what was coming for him.”  _ And he deserved it too. The guy was practically asking for it! _

“And because of that, you thought it was right to assault him like that?” His mother frowned disapprovingly at him. 

“ _ Like I said,” _ he gritted out. “I wasn’t going to let him walk away a second time.” 

“Godsdammit Jon!” His father yelled, slamming the table with his fists as he stood from his chair. He couldn’t help but wince at the sudden noise. “Do you realize the consequences of your actions? You could’ve gotten suspended for this, or worse, expelled! Theon’s parents could very well sue if you’ve done serious damage to him. We saw the video. And if something happens, we can’t promise we’ll be there to save you again. You’re going to college, for gods’ sakes! No college is going to take you after they find out about this! I thought you were getting better Jon.” 

He was a bit saddened to hear this. He wasn’t expecting his father to yell at him for this, though he certainly deserved it. But he was stubborn to the very core. 

“I  _ am better!  _ I told you why I did it! That’s all there is, nothing else! Don’t try to pin this on something other than what it is.” 

His mother sighed as she tried to pull on her husband’s shirt, telling him to sit back down. “This is the fourth time Jon. Not even the first or the second.  _ Fourth.  _ I understand you wanted to defend Daenerys’ honor, but you went too far.” 

He could handle his father’s berating and yelling. At least he knew his father was feeling angry. But what he  _ couldn’t  _ handle, was his mother’s calm, but disappointed upset at him. She never raised her voice, she was always cool and calm. And Jon hated it. It made him feel worthless, for making his mother feel like that. 

“I hope you know and understand how incredibly fortunate you are that the school doesn’t want to expel you. They very well could, and any chances you have of getting into college and a good business school would go straight down the drain. We aren’t sure about Theon’s parents yet, however.” 

Jon doubted Theon’s parents would sue his family. The Greyjoys’ were a pretty big name in the North, but nowhere near the Starks’ level. It would be a waste of their time and money to sue them, and Jon knows his parents are aware of this fact. 

“So what’s my punishment then? You gonna ground me? Take my car away?”

“Do not talk to your mother that way, Jon Stark!” His father snapped. He should’ve known better than to poke at his parents.

His mom was the one that answered him. “We will ground you. But we’re not taking your car away. We’re taking your motorcycle.” 

“What?! No, you can’t do that!” He exclaimed, shooting from his chair. 

“Oh, we can.” His mother answered. “Taking your car away was apparently not enough. So we’ll take away your bike.” 

“What am I supposed to use to get to school and practice then?”  _ Don’t take my bike. Please, not my bike.  _

“You have your car.”

“I’m not using my damn car!” 

“Watch your language Jon!” Ned glowered. 

“Mom, Dad  _ please _ . You can take anything else, but I  _ need  _ my motorcycle.” 

“Our decision is final Jon. You either use your car, or we’ll take that away too and you will use Robb’s or our’s. That’s it.” 

Jon opened his mouth to argue back, to tell them it wasn’t fair, but they glared at him, effectively shutting him up. He swore under his breath, kicking his chair back and leaving the kitchen to his room. He slammed the door behind him, the sound ringing through the house. But frankly, he didn’t care. He just wanted to yell and slam something. Maybe his parents thought they were trying to discipline him, but he felt as if they were just trying to punish him.  _ They definitely are.  _

But deep down inside of him, he knew it was all worth hiding the  _ real truth.  _

___

A week later, on the 23rd of October, found Jon trying to navigate his way through the school halls to get to the cafeteria from fourth period. He’d been anxious all day, and it was for one specific reason: Dany never showed up to school. 

He’s tried texting her and calling her, but all his calls went straight to voicemail and all his texts were left unresponded. When she wasn’t at her locker this morning, he thought she might’ve just been to school, but as she didn’t show up at all to their shared fourth period, he’d begun to worry. Was she sick? Was she out of town? He thought she’d at least leave him a text back to let him know she was okay, but not even that did he get. He tried recounting the previous days to remember if she’d told him anything. She’d been pretty down the past week, much quieter than she usually was. He even caught her zoning out on him once. He tried asking her if everything was alright, but she’d told him she was just having girl problems. Having two sisters himself, he understood it usually meant that she wouldn’t be up to her usual energy. But it was already Friday, and she told him that on Tuesday. Didn’t those things usually only last a few days, or at least the weird moods did? Even then, was it enough to warrant her a day off school? 

Jon was only worried because he knew Dany  _ never  _ missed a day of school, unless she was really sick or her uncle was. Wait-unless her uncle was sick, and that’s why she’s gone today. Shit, he hoped not. He hoped her uncle was doing fine. He really hoped Dany was doing okay too. He decided he’d ask Missy about it once he got to the cafeteria. Surely her best friend would know what was going on, right? 

When he got to the large auditorium, his eyes immediately spotted his girlfriend’s best friend, who was sitting and talking with his good friend Grey from the team. Luckily, he didn’t spot Theon anywhere near the table, so he knew it was safe to go. 

“Missandei, Grey, hi.” 

“Hi Jon.” Missandei greeted him with a cheery smile. Grey nodded at him, giving a small smile but keeping his stoic face.

“Do you know if Dany’s okay? I haven't seen her at all today, and she never came to fourth period. Is she sick, or is her uncle okay? She hasn’t texted me back at all, so I’m just getting a bit worried.” 

Missandei didn’t respond right away, instead, her face had turned confused when he began explaining, but he saw as her face contorted into a somber one. Which only added more to his worries. 

“What? Is she okay? Did she say anything to you?”    


  
She sighed. “She’s not sick. And her uncle is not sick either. Physically, they’re both fine, they’re just at home right now.”    


  
“Then what’s wrong?” 

Missandei pinched her eyebrows together and softly shook her head. “That’s something that Dany should tell you herself. And before you go and make assumptions and drive yourself crazy thinking she’s hiding something from you and cause more problems for the two of you, it’s a really sensitive subject. She told me she’s told you about her past, so it’s got something to do with that. But just be gentle, go easy, okay? It’s a thing she does every year, where she closes herself off to the rest of the world the week following up to her-... she closes down for a week. I’m sure you’ve noticed. If she decides to tell you, then be there for her and support her. If she doesn’t, then please don’t take it personal, and support her anyway. It’s one of the toughest times of year for her.” 

Jon nodded. “Of course.” 

As she walked away from the couple, his brain was a mess of thoughts. He couldn’t help but worry for Dany. If it had to do with her past, then it had to be bad. Bad enough to get her to skip a day of school.  _ Every year, _ at that. He wondered what exactly it was that it had to occur every year.  _ Oh gods, a death anniversary perhaps?  _ He’ll visit her after school and see if she’s okay. No matter if she decides to tell him about it or not, he’ll be there for her.

___

Dany was lying on her bed, her bed covers covering her whole body with only her hair fanning out on her pillow. The only indication that someone was actually in the bed. She hadn’t gotten up all day, only to use the bathroom and see if her uncle needed anything. He knew what this time of year was for her, and he insisted he was okay. And just as he did every year, he insisted she go out and do something fun, but she turned it down, every time. It was anything  _ but  _ a happy time of year for her. 

She was facing the wall, when she felt a dip in the mattress behind her. She didn’t think her uncle could properly lift himself off his wheelchair and onto her mattress, but she figured he would try to anyway. That was her uncle for you. 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t wanna talk right now, Uncle. Please.” 

She heard him give a small laugh through and exhale. 

“ _ Don’t think I’m quite that old yet, Dany.”  _

The northern accent of a voice that responded back to her was  _ definitely  _ not one that belonged to her Uncle. She turned around to face who it was. 

“Jon? How did you get inside?” 

“I knocked a few times, but I guess you didn’t hear me. Your uncle let me in.” 

Dany blushed a soft pink. “Sorry.” She hadn’t heard him or a sound at all outside of her bedroom. 

She looked at him, seeing he was wearing his signature all black outfit. He must have come after school. Suddenly, she felt conscious of what she was wearing. He was here, looking dapper and sharp as always, and here she was in pajama shorts and a tank top, most likely matched with a serious case of bed hair. She tried to pull up the bed covers to cover herself up to her neck, also trying to conceal the fact that she  _ wasn’t  _ wearing a bra and the exposal to the colder air out of her covers did a wonder on her chest. She thought that it was something that Jon would maybe  _ not  _ want to see.

Then she looked down to what his hand was fidgeting with. It was a small basket full of goods such as chocolate, a few bits of candy, and what looked like a take out baggie from Hot Pie’s cafe. He followed her line of vision, and chuckled when he saw what she was looking at. 

“Oh yeah. These are for you. I took a quick run to a gas station and Hot Pie’s before coming here. Thought you might like it.” 

As if on cue, her stomach started to grumble, prompting a chuckle out of the both of them. “Thank you, Jon. You really didn’t have to, but thank you.” She gave him the most earnest smile she could muster, and was glad to receive one back. 

“No problem. You haven’t eaten anything today, have you?”    


  
She shook her head, and he sighed. 

“You should be eating something, Dany. Here, eat this right now.” 

He took the take out baggie from the basket and opened it, revealing a few lemon cake bites inside. 

“It’s not much, but at least it’ll get somethin’ in you.” He thrust out his fingers with the small sweet in his hand. She looked at him weirdly. “I washed my hands, I promise. Open your mouth.” 

She obeyed, and once he placed the sweet treat in her mouth, she shut her eyes to savor the taste. She thinks she may have just found one of her new favorite treats. 

“Like it?” 

She peeked an eye open to find him smirking at her. 

“I love it.” She said, before opening her mouth to accept another bite.

Once she finished with her cake bites, Jon wiped his hands with a napkin he’d brought. “Do you want something else?” He asked her, referring to the basket still full of sweet treats. 

“No, I’m good for now. Thank you.” He nodded. He looked as if he was about to ask something, but was scared to. “What?”    


  
“Do you-uh- do you mind if I join you?” 

She was confused at first. Join her where? But as she watched as his eyes tried to stop themselves from flickering to her on the bed, and that’s when she got the memo. She scooted over, making room for him and patted the space next to her. He made to take his shoes off, leaving them on the floor next to her bed and removing his leather jacket as well, placing it at the foot of her bed. He climbed into the bed next to her, and it took them a minute to adjust, before he finally settled on a position with his back on the pillows, leaning against the headboard. She hesitated on cuddling closer, but decided  _ fuck it,  _ and scooted in closer, resting her head on his chest and her left hand on his abdomen. They laid there together in silent peace for a moment, content on just listening to the other breathe. 

“Are you okay?” He asked her suddenly. 

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”    


  
He frowned at her, and she felt she was missing something. “You weren’t at school today. You never answered my texts or calls.”    


  
And suddenly, it all came back to her like a rapid waterfall. She had almost forgotten why she had spent all day inside her bed when Jon came over. 

She didn’t look up from her spot on his chest, instead drawing little shapes on his abdomen with her hand. “I’ll be okay.” 

“Missandei said it had something to do with your past. And that it happens every year. That’s all she said. She said it was only for you to tell, if you so choose.” 

Dany was, not for the first time, grateful for her friend for supporting her and sticking up for her behind her back. She silently thanked Missy in her head, and made a mental note to tell her in person as well. 

“I’ll be okay.” She repeated. “It’ll pass. Just give me a couple more days and I’ll be back.” 

He nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?”    


  
She thought for a moment. Did she want to tell him? Maybe, but not right now. She’ll wait for a few days to pass when she does tell him. So she shook her head. 

“Not right now. In a couple days… just not right now.” She craned her head to look at him. “Is that okay?”    


  
He responded by squeezing her to him tighter, then whispered. “It’s more than okay. I’ll wait, however long you need me too.” 

She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it closed when it caught up to her brain what she was about to say to him.  _ I love you.  _ Not yet. Maybe she’ll tell him her feelings soon, but not now. So instead she settled for something else.

“Stay with me a bit?” 

“However long you want me too.” 

  
_ For forever, Jon. _   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe, sike? Did you really think the truth would be revealed that easily and quickly? Nope! I still have a few more things to add before we get to the real juice of things. Let's see who can guess why Dany has been so down. Whoever guesses correct gets virtual hugs. Also, I figured since I ended last chapter on a cliff-hanger of a sort on an angsty note, I decided I would leave this one on a fluffy one.   
> Tune in next time to see why Dany is so sad. 
> 
> [ nice comments are welcome. If you're not nice then you're not allowed >:( ]
> 
> I've written the outline for the next chapter, and let's just say
> 
> get ready to grab your tissues and I'll see you next time!


	16. How to rise from the floor, when it's not you I'm rising for?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon learns some interesting news and decides to take Dany out as an apology. Dany gets a call that changes everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so i guess if you backtrack and try to make sense of my dates in this chapter, i implied that dany’s birthday was on a friday (the 23rd) and halloween was on a sunday (the 31st.. duh) but when you count backwards that’s not actually true… but whatever! Let’s go with it, yeah? Also big thanks to all your kind comments and for your kudos the past chapters. I feel like i dont say it often or nearly enough as i should be, but thank you for the support you’ve all been showing me throughout this story. I apologize deeply for a bit of a late update. I also have little to no idea of how hospitals work despite my mother working at one herself so uh bear with me. And i dont know how to write a will, so oops. apologies for any mistakes, I'll fix them eventually.
> 
> hope you enjoy! hehe ;)

_ This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down _

_ But a tiny voice whispers in my mind _

_ You are lost, hope is gone _

_ But you must go on _

_ And do the next right thing _

_ Can there be a day beyond this night? _

_ I don't know anymore what is true _

_ I can't find my direction, I'm all alone _

_ The only star that guided me was you _

_ How to rise from the floor? _

_ But it's not you I'm rising for _

It’s November 1st, the day after Halloween and everyone’s raving about the past day, the night of Halloween. As Dany walks past all her peers, she overhears different conversations taking place. 

__

_ “Did you go to the party last night?!”  _

__

_ “Did you hear that Margaery Tyrell threw a huge party at her house last night?”  _

__

_ “You should’ve gone trick-or-treating with us!”  _ _   
_

_   
_ _ “I had to stay at home and watch my siblings and hand out candy.”  _

__

_ “I had way too much homework to even have any fun last night.”  _

__

She thinks of how her Halloween went. It was on a Sunday, which meant no school. The entire day she was by herself in the apartment, her uncle having slept most of the day in, leaving her to entertain herself. She finished the rest of her homework, which wasn’t much, and by lunchtime she was bored beside herself having nothing to do. She was tempted to call Missy, but she knew her friend had plans with her family already. So she settled on calling Jon, and they’d talked for a good few hours on a bunch of random things. She’d found out some pretty interesting things about him that she didn’t know already, like how he skipped a grade in elementary school and was actually younger than their current senior class (a fact that he didn’t want  _ anybody _ to know). She was so surprised to hear this, and told him how she had been pushed ahead in middle school, making her a bit younger as well. Their time was up hours later though when Jon had to get ready to take his little brothers trick-or-treating, to which she’d cheekily told him to enjoy and not steal their candies. Now here she was, almost reaching his place at his locker, where he’d turned around before she could have the chance to surprise him. 

__

“Dany! Hey!” She was greeted warmly by a soft press of his lips on hers before pulling away, and she couldn’t help but smile.

__

“How was trick-or-treating last night?”    


  
Jon gave a dramatic sigh at that, making her bite back a giggle. “It was okay I guess. Bran and Rickon are absolute terrors when they want to be.  _ Especially  _ when there’s candy involved. I don’t know why my parents ground me, then force me to take my brothers outside.” 

__

“Maybe because it’s part of your punishment?” She sing-songed. 

__

“I could’ve had a little bit of help at least. Arya wasn’t doing anything at home.” 

__

“Oh, please. I’m sure you did fine on your own. Don’t be a baby about it.”    


  
Jon frowned deeply, pouting his lips. “That’s exactly what Arya said.” Dany laughed out loud this time, pressing a quick kiss to his pouting lips, then tapping it with her finger. 

__

“Two against one. Maybe you should listen.” She winked at him, causing his pretend frown to deepen before finally cracking a smile of his own. 

__

“Oh, also, before I forget, you can make it to lunch with me today, right?” 

__

Dany thought about it quickly, then nodded her head. “Yeah, I can make it.” 

__

“Do you, uh, mind if we use your car though?” Jon cringed as he asked her. Dany almost forgot his parents had taken his motorcycle in punishment for his fight with Theon, living him incredibly heartbroken.

__

“Don’t you have your own car?” 

__

“Well, yeah, but…” 

__

“But?” She prodded. 

__

“Fine,” he sighed heavily. “We’ll use my car.” 

__

Dany rolled her eyes at him. She didn’t understand why he hated taking his car so much. “I think you should be just a little bit more grateful that you even have a car. A sports one at that. And that your parents didn’t take your car away too.” 

__

“They did before.” He grumbled, pouting like a child at her berating. She knew he knew she was right. Dany shook her head disapprovingly.

__

“Look, I gotta get to class, but I’ll see you in fourth period, and by then you better have this grumpy attitude long gone, okay?” 

__

He nodded gingerly. “Okay. I’m sorry, I’ll see you then.” 

__

_____ 

__

He did in fact, get rid of the grumpy attitude a few hours later, as they walked inside Hot Pie’s for lunch. He allowed her to walk in first, holding the door open for her and an elderly couple who followed closely behind, giving them a small nod. 

__

Once they ordered their food, they found a table to sit in, taking a seat across from each other. Jon noticed Dany fidgeting in her seat, a small frown gracing her face, her pretty mouth twisting slightly.

__

“You okay there?”

__

She stopped fidgeting, looking up at him with surprise etched on her face. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m great. Just hungry I guess.” 

__

She gave a nervous chuckle and he knew then that something was up. He gave her a look to let her know he did not believe her or believe that was the full truth. Luckily, she relented. 

__

“Okay, there’s something I have to tell you. But, just don’t freak out or whatever, okay? I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, but I’m not sure how you might see it.” 

__

Freak out? What did she have to tell him that might cause him to do that? “I won’t. I’m completely cool, calm and collected.” 

__

She blew a breath out, tucking a hair strand behind her ear before beginning.    
  


“You remember when I was gone from school that one day? On the 23rd? And how I was so out of it in my room. I didn’t want to eat, talk, or go outside. I just wanted to sleep all day and night.”    
  
He nodded. “Yeah, I remember that. Not too long ago. You said you would tell me a few days after that.” He remembered that detail too, but of course, he never pushed her to tell him. 

__

“Yeah, well it was because… it was my birthday that day. October 23rd.” 

__

_ Wait, what? _   
  
_ No Jon. Cool, calm and collected. Cool, calm and co- _

__

Who the hell does he think he’s fooling? He is  _ not  _ cool, calm and collected.  _ Her birthday?!  _ Why didn’t she tell him? Why was she telling him now, over a week later?! He couldn’t believe it.  _ He’d missed her birthday!  _ Gods, what was even worse was that he didn’t even know it was her birthday. What kind of boyfriend was he? What kind of idiotic dumbass wouldn’t ask their own girlfriend their birthday? Or her friend, for that matter. 

__

“I’m-I’m sorry, did you say it was your birthday?” He had to make sure he heard her right. Maybe she actually meant to say bed-day, or worth-day, or-

__

“Yeah. My birthday.” Then she cringed. “Don’t be mad.” 

__

Mad? No, he wasn’t mad. Not at her at least. Mad at himself? Most definitely so. In fact, he was fucking pissed at himself. Why didn’t he think to ask? 

__

“I’m not mad.” It came out a tiny bit harsher than he intended for it to be, but he couldn’t stop himself.   
  


“You look mad.” She sighed, her eyes looking downward to gaze at her hands that were on her lap instead. “I’m sorry Jon. I know I should’ve said something, but it was all too much for me at the time and I just couldn’t.” She looked defeated. 

__

He shook his head. “No, Dany. I’m not mad at you, and it’s not your fault. I’m upset with myself. I feel terrible for not knowing it was your birthday. If I had known-” 

__

“You would not have done anything.” She cut him off, a sharp look in her eyes “I’ll let it slide that you feel bad for not knowing, but nothing else.” 

__

He frowned, confused at what she was saying. “I don’t understand though… Why didn’t you tell me about it?” 

__

Suddenly, the sharp look was gone, replaced with one of defeat. Her eyes returned back to her lap. 

__

“Dany?” He was close to moving and sitting next to her, ready to take her in his arms if need be. 

__

“My family… I told you how my mother died on my fourth birthday, my father the night before my fifth birthday, Rhaegar not too long after that, and Viserys on my sixth. Don’t you see the pattern there? Every single one of my family has died on or near my birthday. I can’t help but feel like if I wasn’t born, if I didn’t and don’t exist, then maybe my family wouldn’t be dead. That day was a  _ fucking curse,  _ Jon.  _ I’m  _ a fucking curse. I shouldn’t even be here-”    


  
“Don’t.” He stopped her. “Don’t say that. You have every right to be here. You deserve to be alive.” 

__

He held his hand out on the table, waiting expectantly for her to lift her own up into his. She did, picking up and giving him her left one. He took a small shaky breath to steady himself. 

__

“I’m glad you’re alive. Like, really fuckin’ glad. The things you do, the things you make me feel? There’s nothing to describe it. I used to think I was the coolest guy ever. Then, you showed up and all of a sudden, I’m tripping over my own feet trying to do everything to please you. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I would’ve found myself again. Maybe in a different world, where if you weren’t here with me right now and we weren’t together, I’d probably be at school, at the usual table with my friends, flirting with a bunch of girls who’ve perched themselves on my arm, not giving a shit about my life. Before, that would’ve been my ideal day. But now? There’s nowhere I’d rather be than here with you, sitting in this restaurant, holding your hand while we wait for our food. You don’t realize your effect on people, but it’s so great. Your family did not die because you started existing. You’re nothing but a gift, a blessing. You can’t blame yourself for the death of your family. You did absolutely nothing. So please, Dany, don’t say things like that, okay? It’s not your fault.” 

__

He hated the way she talked about it. The way she talked about herself. As if she didn’t deserve to be alive. It scared him, in a way that sent chills up and down his back if he thought too far and deep into it. She talked like she was something expendable, and he couldn’t have that. 

__

She didn’t say anything, instead choosing to remain silent. Anything else she would have said went unknown, as their food chose that time to arrive. They pulled apart from each other and he thanked the waitress before eating. He looked up every so often to check on her, but still she remained mute as she ate. Whatever was going on in her head, he only hoped she had his words in mind as well. 

__

Once they finished eating, Jon paid for their food and they left,making their way back to school. Arriving at the parking lot, they got out of the car with a few minutes left to spare. 

__

“Hey,” he cupped her elbow to stop her from walking away. “You okay?” 

__

She nodded numbly. “Just thinking. About what you said. About everything.” 

__

He understood, and he let her elbow go, though placing his hand to the small of her back as they walked to her class. 

__

“Jon?”   


  
“Yeah?”

__

“If… if you could go back and be who you were before, when you hung out with everybody and had so many girls chasing after you and you had options to choose from… would you do it? Would you go back?” 

__

_ No.  _ Absolutely not. What part of  _ ‘there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you’  _ did she not get? 

__

“No. Of course not. Never. I told you that you were the only one I’d rather spend my time with. I wouldn’t change what we have for the world. I mean it. I don’t care if I’m no longer available to be flirted with. I’m glad. You’re the only one in my eyes, okay?” 

__

His answer seemed to please her, as a small smile grew on her face. He wanted to make that smile even bigger and have it stay that way forever if it were up to him. 

__

“I’m gonna take you out on a proper date soon. To make up for not taking you out on your birthday.” 

__

Dany stopped dead in her tracks, looking at him. 

__

“No you’re not.” 

__

“What? Of course I am.” 

__

“Jon you don’t have to.” 

__

He sighed. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Please Dany. It’s just not right.” 

__

She looked at him, looking adorably irritated. “Fine. But no presents. You already got me that basket of snacks that one time and it was present enough, regardless of whether or not you knew it was my birthday.” 

__

“Fine by me. As long as I get to take you out on a date. It’s gonna be great, I assure you.” 

__

She glared at him, and he would have thought it was a real one if she hadn’t cracked a smile and started chuckling while shaking her head.

__

“You’re so weird sometimes.” 

__

_____

__

“Okay,  _ where exactly  _ are you taking me?” She bugged him for the fifth time as he drove them down the highway. He turned right, and then she couldn’t identify where they were anymore. She can’t say she’s familiar with this route. 

__

“It’s a surprise.” He answered,  _ for the fifth time.  _

__

She pouted, unsatisfied with that answer. “Why can’t you just tell me?”    


  
“Because then it won’t be a surprise. Come on Dany, catch up here.” 

__

She rolled her eyes and pouted again, crossing her arms and looking out the window to her right instead. There weren’t many buildings, just grass and trees.

__

“Are you planning on murdering me in the middle of nowhere?” 

__

Jon chuckled from his spot, not taking his eyes off the road. “No. I have other plans  _ before  _ we get to that.” 

__

She couldn’t help but laugh lightly at their jokes. She didn’t know why she agreed to let him take her out for an ‘I’m sorry I missed your birthday so I’m taking you out now’ date. She nearly told him she changed her mind and didn’t want to go out, but he seemed so excited to take her on this date that she couldn’t find it in her to turn him down. He’d told her to dress comfortably, so she took to wearing a light red sweater with a denim jacket over it and some leggings, her hair in a loose braid to the side. 

__

She turned to him again. “Can you at least give me a hint?”    


  
He gave a huff of small frustration at her insistent prodding. “Fine. One hint. Uh, family-friendly?”   


  
“Family friendly?” Her face scrunched up at that. That could mean a myriad of things!

__

“Yep. Family friendly. There you go, there’s your one hint.” 

__

She pouted, facing forward for a bit, then turning back to him again. 

__

“How about a sec-”   


  
“No.”

__

“You’re no fun.”    


  
“We’re almost there Dany, will you relax?”   


  
“I don’t see why it’s taking so long though.” 

__

“Patience lo- uh, patience.” He finished gruffly. 

__

Then it was quiet again, Jon focused on the road while Dany sat there. Her heart gave a flutter at his misstep. Was he about to call her  _ love?  _ Does that mean he  _ does  _ love her? Her heart gave way to a bit of a heavy pound, not too hard, but not normally either. Maybe this would be the date where she found the courage to tell him her deep feelings. But first, she’d need to get that courage. And she was still a bit stuck on that particular step.

__

“Aaand we’re here!” Jon’s voice cheerfully broke through the silence, and Dany snapped her head up to see where they were.

__

_ Deepwood Motte’s Zoo and Aquarium: _

_ Largest in the North! _

__

He surprised her with a date to the zoo and aquarium?! She looked at him, smiling widely. 

__

“Are you serious?”   


  
He gave her a hearty smile. “Yup! Figured you’d like animals so this place might be a good spot for you. You like it?” 

__

She would’ve answered him had she not already shut the car door, leaving him alone in the car as she felt her eyes widen at actually being in the largest zoo of all the North. She scanned the surrounding area, the large, hard to miss sign at the very front, families getting in and out of their cars with their young and excited kids. Dany was positive she looked exactly like a little kid who’s never been to the zoo before. But, as far as she could remember, she’s never actually been to one. 

__

She heard Jon’s deep chuckle and his warm presence coming up behind her. She immediately leaned into him, pressing her nose to his chest.

__

“I love this. Thank you so much.”

__

She unburied her face from his chest, looking up at him as he gazed down at her. Her heart gave another flutter and her stomach did a little flip as he looked at her so affectionately. 

__

“I’m glad you do. But we haven’t even gotten inside yet. C’mon, let’s get inside.” 

__

He took her hand and they walked to one of the ticket booths at the entrance of the zoo. Jon let go of her hand to pull his wallet out, pulling two tickets out to give to the young woman who stood in the booth. Then he held his right wrist out for the woman to wrap a neon green wrist band around it. He stepped back, and Dany took it as her cue to do the same as him, allowing her wrist to be wrapped. 

__

“I hope you enjoy ‘Deepwood Motte’s Largest Zoo and Aquarium in the North!” They were cheerfully greeted.

__

Their hands reconnected as they stepped through the revolving entrance doors. Then they were inside. 

__

Dany felt like a true child seeing her favorite princess in real life as she took in the sight of the zoo. There were little children running about, clutching onto either a snack or an animal stuffed toy. There were young and old couples walking about, smiling, laughing and talking, just like her and Jon. She caught sight of the map in the center of the entrance plaza, and she pulled Jon over there to see which exhibit they wanted to check out first. 

__

“Which one do you wanna see first?” She asked him. 

__

“Whatever you want to see first, Dany.” Was his reply.

__

A mischievous smile grew on her face. She knew the very first animal exhibit she wanted to see before everything else.

__

The  _ reptile  _ exhibit.

__

_____

__

They’d walked around almost the whole park, admiring each and every exhibit they walked past. She noticed how Jon had even snapped a few pictures of her in ‘secret’. At least he thought it was a secret. She was aware of him pointing his phone’s camera at her several times when he believed her to be too engrossed in the animals to pay attention to him. There were a couple that he did ask her to pose for, such as when she got to hold a snake, feed a giraffe, and pet stingrays. Eventually, they were both worn out and decided to find a place to sit and eat to replenish their energy.

__

“You having fun so far?” He asked her between a sip of his soda. She was in the middle of chewing a pretzel she’d bought when he asked. So she finished chewing first.

__

“A lot of fun. This was a really nice surprise. Thank you, Jon. I don’t remember the last time I’ve been to the zoo, if I’ve ever even gone.” 

__

She looked at the right moment as she saw his face contort to a frown then go away as quickly as it came on. 

__

“Well then I’m glad I was able to take you to your first visit. We can definitely come back here whenever you want.” 

__

“Everyday?” She teased. 

__

He gave a dramatic and heavy gulp. “Uh, maybe not  _ everyday.  _ Every now and then sounds better.”

__

She laughed, enjoying another bite out of her pretzel. She noticed Jon open his mouth to say something, when she felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket. He must have noticed it too, and didn’t say anything. She pulled it out, frowning to see it was. 

__

_ Cedric? Why was Cedric calling her? _

__

She answered the phone anyway, clicking the volume button on her phone to hear a little bit better above all the noise around her. 

__

“Cedric? Is everything alright?” 

__

“ _ Hey Daenerys? I hate to bother you with whatever you’re doing, but there’s been an emergency. Aemon’s here at Alysanne’s Medical Center. You need to come here quickly. I don’t… I don’t think he’s doing good.”  _

__

She clicked off the call, slowly lowering her phone as she stared off. 

__

“Dany? Is everything alright? Who was that?” She could faintly hear him through the soft ringing in her ear. 

__

“We need to get to Alysanne’s Medical Center.  _ Now.”  _

__

_____ 

_   
  
  
_

As soon as Jon got his car inside a parking spot, Dany practically flew out, slamming the door behind her, not bothering to wait for Jon to turn off the engine. She got to the front desk, trying to get the attention of the receptionist.

__

“Hi, excuse me I need- I need the room of my uncle. His name’s- his name’s Aemon Targaryen. I’m Daenerys Targaryen, his niece.” She was panting after running all the way from the parking lot as she spoke to the lady. She managed to somehow understand the jumbled words Dany spat out at her. 

__

“He’s in room 317 on the 4th floor, miss.”

__

Dany nodded, and rushed out what she hoped sounded like a ‘thank you’ to her. Behind her, she saw Jon catch up to her, making his way to her side as she half walked half jogged to the elevator. Once they got inside, Dany slammed the button for the floor door, half wishing she could just fly up there instead of patiently waiting. She could tell Jon wanted to say something next to her, but she guesses he chose to stay silent for now. Once the elevator door opened, it revealed a man behind a woman in a wheelchair. She squeezed past them, barely hearing Jon apologize to them before going after her. She checked the rooms one by one until she found it.

__

_ 314 _

__

_ 315 _

__

_ Staff room _

__

_ 316 _

__

_ 317 _

__

She found the room number, sighing in relief. She stopped before going inside, taking a few breaths to calm her heart rate and to wait for Jon, who made his way behind her. She could see from her position in the hall that Cedric was sitting on a chair inside up against a wall. She could see the bump of legs underneath a blanket in the hospital bed, but no higher up.

__

_ Gods please,  _ please _ be okay Uncle. I can’t lose you too…  _

__

At that exact moment, Cedric turned around from his chair, looking at her. He got up, making his way outside. 

__

“Daenerys, you made it.” 

__

“How is he?” She cut to the chase. As soon as she asked, however, her Uncle’s caretaker’s face turned solemn, and Dany paled in response as her heart began to pick up its rate. 

__

“Not so well…” He was about to say more when his eyes glanced to her left then turned around fully. It was the doctor.

__

“Hello Miss, gentleman,” the man nodded to her and to Jon and Cedric. “You must Daenerys Targaryen, Aemon Targaryen’s niece. I’m Doctor Wolkan.” 

__

Dany nodded fervently. “I am. How is he? Tell me he’s doing okay.” She near-pleaded with him. 

__

Like Cedric though, Dr. Wolkan’s face grew darker, more serious.  _ No, please. Don’t tell me…  _

__

“While I’d love more than anything to tell you your Uncle will be fine… circumstances prove I can’t. He’s not doing very well right now as his health is slowly deteriorating. I’m afraid he doesn’t have much time left.” 

__

Suddenly, everything around her dissipated into white noise. The soft beeping of machines, the sounds of wheels rolling on the floor, the soft chatter of people walking past and in other rooms all faded into nothing. Once the words left the Doctor’s mouth, she felt herself shiver, her body blanketed in a state of coldness. Her eyes felt numb, as if she wanted to cry at the news but couldn’t, choosing instead to stare look at the Doctor’s shoes and zone out. She briefly felt Jon’s arm snake itself around her waist, pulling her closer to him as his lips pressed to her temple. 

__

“I’m very sorry Miss Targaryen. This is just what happens sometimes. He’s quite an old man, and sooner or later you knew this is what it would come down to-” 

__

“Stop!” She snapped out of her trance and snapped at him. “I don’t care that this is what happens to people! I don’t care that I should’ve known! This wasn’t supposed to happen to him! You have to be able to help, you must have something that can help him.  _ Please,  _ I’m begging you.  _ He’s the only family I have left.”  _ She finished, her voice cracking with emotion as she stepped out of Jon’s hold and grabbed the Doctor’s arm, pleading and begging him. She’ll get down on her knees and beg if she has to. Anything to save her Uncle. Except, he only looked at her with sadness. 

__

“I’m so sorry. I wish there was something that I could do to help him. Truly I do. But there’s nothing else that can be done. The only thing left that can be done is for you to be there with him and spend his last moments together.” 

__

Dany was going to say something else, but she feared whatever she said would be of no use. Jon gently pried her hand off the Doctor’s arm and wrapped her up in his own. Dr. Wolkan left then, and Dany clutched onto Jon as hard as she could, squeezing him with every bit of strength she had. He rubbed her back with a hand in upwards and downwards motions as she felt his face buried in her hair. She didn’t cry though, she couldn’t. But it sure as hell felt like she would any second now. She pulled away from him, looking into his eyes.

__

“Go, you should see him. I gotta give my parents a call that we’re here. I’ll be outside.” He strokes her hair gently as he told her and she nodded, turning around to go inside the room. 

__

Dany walked in the room cautiously as she eyed her Uncle’s sleeping form. She took great comfort in the fact that she could still see his chest softly rising and falling, the steady hum and beeping of the machines an indication that he was still there with her. She saw a chair against the wall and lifted it to bring next to the bed, closer to him. Once she took a seat, she hesitated a bit before reaching out to hold his hand close to her. She didn’t know what to say, yet she had so much to speak of. 

__

“I’m here now Uncle. I’m here now… you don’t have to leave.  _ Please  _ don’t leave me. I’ve lost everyone else. And you saved me. _ I can’t lose you too-”  _

__

At that moment, as her voice broke, something inside her cracked, releasing all her emotions in the form of fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She tried to stop herself. Crying wouldn’t do anything, yet it was the only thing she could do. 

__

_ “I haven’t even graduated yet. You’re supposed to be there at my graduation. You’re the only family I have left. Where am I supposed to go if you’re not here? What am I supposed to do? I still need you here to guide me. You can’t leave me yet, Uncle, please I’m begging you. Don’t leave me.”  _

__

She sniffled, her nose beginning to run with her tears. She felt a small movement of fingers in the hand she was grasping, and she sat up straighter, wiping her tears away to meet him. His eyes blinked a couple times, his hand feeling hers. 

__

“Dany?” 

__

“It’s me Uncle.” 

__

He sighed, much more content-sounding than she felt he should be considering. “Thank you for coming. It truly means everything to me.” 

__

For coming? Of course she would come. What had he been expecting her to do, ignore him? No, that would never happen. 

__

“Of course I’m here Uncle. How are you feeling?”    


  
“Happy. Satisfied.” 

__

Dany shook her head, glad he couldn’t see her do so. “I don’t see why you would be.”    
  


“Oh, I like to believe I’ve lived my life the way I wanted to. Granted, there were still a few things I would have liked to do, but I’m satisfied no matter what.” 

__

She took hold of his hand again, holding it a little bit tighter to her chest. “We can still go see those things. Just tell me what they are, and when we leave this hospital, I’ll find a way to take you to them.” 

__

But her Uncle Aemon shook his head, smiling sadly. “I’m afraid not, my dear. You’ll have to leave this hospital without me.” 

__

She shook her head quickly as well. “No. No, don’t talk like that. We’ll find a way to help you, and you’ll live even longer. We’ll have enough time to go do whatever you’d like. It’s not your time yet.” She insisted. She couldn’t,  _ wouldn’t,  _ believe that his time here was up. 

__

He lifted his hand towards her face and she gave him it, his hand finding her left cheek and softly caressing it. 

__

“Don’t be scared child. You’ll be fine without me. You’re such a strong woman. I’m so thankful to have had a chance to raise you, despite the circumstances it happened. You’ve given me much joy Daenerys. The daughter I never had. Thank you for being that for me. Thank you for being so easy to raise. We cannot deny my time here in Westeros is up. I’ve lived a good, long life. But I like to think I’ll be going to a place where I can see and walk the way I’ve done before. A place where your family is. Oh, don’t cry my Dany. I understand this might be upsetting for you, but we must make do with what’s been given to us. You’re ready for this world. Westeros will not know what’s hit them when Daenerys Targaryen comes.” 

__

The tears were freely falling now, no longer contained and chained by her pride and stubbornness, no longer slaves to it. 

__

“What if I’m not ready? I don’t- _ I don’t wanna lose you too.”  _ Her voice has jumped several pitches higher, almost whimper-like but quietly, in a whisper. 

__

“Shh, don’t cry child. Don’t cry. These last moments of mine should be happy. I might not live on with those memories, but you will, and I don’t want you regretting your last words to your Uncle.” 

__

_ Stop, stop, please don’t say that. These aren’t your last moments, they can’t be!  _ Dany only cried harder. 

__

“Jon… is Jon here with you?” He asked her. 

__

She swallowed the thick lump in her throat before answering. “Yeah, yeah he’s outside.” 

__

“Bring him in please. I want to talk to him.” 

__

She glanced out the door to see Jon standing under the frame, his hands stuck in his pockets as he looked a bit uncomfortable. She didn’t know how much he’s heard, but she concluded she didn’t care. She’ll likely be crying herself to sleep in his arms later. Dany nodded, allowing pass to enter inside as he made his way to the other side of Aemon opposite to her. 

__

“He’s here.” 

__

Jon bent down in a low squat to meet her Uncle’s level on the bed. Uncle Aemon lifted his other hand and felt around a bit, before resting on Jon’s bicep.

__

“I try not dwell on my regrets in this life, but one that I cannot let go of is how little time we’ve spent in each other’s company. But the few times I have gotten to talk with you, I can see how good you are. And I’m trusting you with a responsibility that should’ve been mine, that shall now befall you. Take care of my sweet niece. The first few days, to even weeks, this will all be very hard for her. I’m asking you to please be there for her. Be her rock, and make sure she doesn’t float away. She’s lost enough family as it is, and I hate that she must live to see another one leave. I’m asking you to be kind, be patient, be gentle and be loving to her. She’ll need it. I can feel great potential in both of you. I only hope that you’ll both be mature enough in this relationship of yours to get through life. Relationships can be hard, especially in high school and college. But if you do it together, I have no doubt you’ll get through just fine. I leave you with those words Jon Stark. I hope and trust you’ll keep them in your mind and heart. Let her grieve for her a bit, but hold her. Kill the boy inside of you, and become the man you’re destined to be. For the both of you.” 

__

Uncle Aemon released his hand from Jon and returned it back to his side. She looked to Jon, who looked at Aemon with wide eyes. She didn’t blame him. Her Uncle had just given him serious instructions that she was sure he took very seriously. She gave him a small smile when his eyes found hers. His wide eyes disappeared, instead lowering a bit with his eyebrows before returning her gesture. 

__

“Oh… I can feel it Dany. I’ll be leaving soon.” 

__

Her focus shot back to him when he said that. She felt utterly helpless. There was nothing she could do to help her Uncle, and it absolutely killed her inside. She grasped onto his hand tighter,  _ as if that would help.  _

__

“There’s something I must say before I go. I had Cedric bring a letter for you. It has everything I want to say to you that I couldn’t say now. Read it whenever. And don’t forget, I love you Daenerys. I’m so thankful to have taken care of you, and I’m so thankful for you taking care of me.” 

__

She glanced at the heart rate monitor next to her, and while she didn’t understand everything she was looking at, she knew enough to know his heart was slowing down, and he didn’t have much time left. 

__

“I love you too Uncle.  _ There aren’t enough words to describe how thankful I am for you. But thank you for everything.  _ I wish you didn’t have to go…”  _ Please don’t go.  _

_   
  
_

_ Slower now.  _

_   
  
_

“You’re welcome for everything… Oh, I’m going to go now Dany.” 

__

Her breaths came in a little bit shorter gasps now. “Say hi to my family for me.” 

__

“I will, my sweetling… I will.” 

__

The next sound to fill the room was a loud, continuous beep, reminding her the painful horror of what laid in front of her. 

__

“Uncle Aemon?” She gently shook him awake. “Uncle Aemon?” She shook him again. “Uncle? Please wake up. Uncle, please.” 

__

She didn’t know when, but at some point, Jon had moved to behind her, rubbing her shoulder.

__

“He’s gone Dany…” 

__

She shook her head so fast and hard she feared for a split second that she would hurt her neck. “N-no.  _ No. He can’t. Uncle please wake up.”  _ She shook him a little harder this time, hoping that would be enough to rouse him.

__

“Dany…” Jon tried pulling her away, trying to get her to stop and let go, but she resisted. 

__

“No. Jon, please. He can wake up again, I know it.” 

__

She pulled herself away from him and tried to wake her Uncle up one last time, but Jon’s strength was no match for hers and he won, pulling her to him and wrapping his strong arms securely around her. She finally relented, and he allowed her to cry her tears into his chest as she shook her head in denial. 

__

Nurses came into the room, and she turned away, not wanting to see them at the moment. Jon took the memo and he led them outside, where she clutched him even tighter as tear after tear fell, her body shaking with each gasp that she gave. 

__

“Shh… I’m right here Dany, just let it out love.” 

__

She would have heard what he had called her if she paid more mind to it, but her mind, body, and soul were occupied with utter grief. Dany had no idea how long she stood there crying in the middle of the hall of the hospital, but eventually she pulled away, trying and failing to wipe her tears and snot away and move the hair that stuck to her face. Jon brushed the hair and her tears off with his thumb, taking her hand and leading her to a chair. Cedric came up to them, his face serious and sad.

__

She gave him a polite, sad smile. He returned it, then took out from his pocket a folded piece of paper. 

__

“Aemon told me to give this to you.” 

__

She looked at the paper he held out in his hand for her before taking it, noting how shaky her hand was. Dany looked at him as earnestly as she could. 

__

“Thank you. Not just for this, but for everything. I truly wouldn’t have been able to help him without you. You’ve done so much for us. I wish I could repay you with something just as great as your help.” 

__

Cedric shook his head softly. “Your gratitude is enough payment.” 

__

“You’re released now, Cedric. I hope your life goes well.” 

__

“Thank you as well Daenerys. I hope things begin to look up for you soon.” He nodded at her and to Jon, before walking past them and down the hall. It left her and Jon alone in the hall, she stared at the letter in her hand, unsure whether to read it now or later. She decided later. 

__

“I wanna go home Jon.” 

__

He placed his hand on the small of her back. 

__

“Aye, I’ll take you home Dany.” 

__

_____

__

Jon had accompanied her on her way up to the apartment. It felt so weird, so different now. It felt empty. She wanted to go to her room and cry, bury herself in her bed for a week, maybe even longer. But she needs to read the letter her Uncle left her. His last words. Dany took a seat on the couch, Jon following next to her. She took a shaky breath, then unfolded it, opening it and reading its contents. 

_   
  
_

_Dear Daenerys,_

__

_As I have this written out for me, I sit in my chair in the kitchen, my hands holding onto the picture frames of your and your family, and the picture frame of us two. Cedric is with me at the table, he is writing whatever it is I have to say to you. It’s quite a lot. My sweet, do you remember when you were still a young child, and you always asked me to go to the park? I always took you to the playground when I could, whenever you asked. I would watch you from one of the benches, back when I still could see, laughing and taking pictures of you as you slid down the slide or hung onto the monkey bars. Then you would run up to me, and beg me to come play with you. But every time I told you I couldn’t. I was past the age where I would’ve been able to at the time. I think deeply everyday of the things that we could experience together if I weren’t so old and blind. I would take you to festivals and walk through it as we ate and admired everything we passed, we would go to museums and appreciate all the art and history. I would take you to amusement parks, and we would ride every single ride until we felt like collapsing from exhaustion. But alas, in another world will that happen only._

__

_Raising you was no doubt a challenge. You’d often cry for your parents, for your brothers. There were so many nights I’d wake up to the sound of your crying and screaming, and I could never ever forget the pain I felt inside me when I had to remind you of your missing family. You were far too young to experience such loss and sadness. No child should ever have to go through what you have. However, there were days where you were so happy and full of energy. If it was a very good day, you’d put on one of your costumes or a dress, and that’s what you’d wear all day. Teaching you though, was a breeze. You picked everything up so fast. You always made me feel an immense amount of pride whenever you told me how easy school was for you everyday. You have no idea how lucky I feel to have seen you grow into the young woman you are in front of me everyday. Along the way, I’d lost my ability to see, but they often say when the eyes are closed, your other senses work harder and you feel things on a deeper level. That is how I felt. I became more in touch with how I felt and how I affected how others felt. I hope you take a lesson from this. Maybe not become blind, but remember when things become too much for you, take a step back and close your eyes. Allow yourself to relax and connect with your surroundings._

__

_When you first introduced me to Jon, I was very skeptical of him. Though I couldn’t see for myself, I knew you to be a beautiful young girl. As lovely as it is, it also frightened me. There are people in this world that have been known to take advantage of such beauty. Unfortunately, I know you would already understand this. When you had run home to me, telling me of everything that that other boy did to you, I was so angry at him but most importantly myself. Even if your parents did not personally oversee it, I know they would trust me to protect you. But I was so helpless. I couldn’t fight back. No matter how much I wished to be able to get up from this dreaded seat of mine and fight back. But I couldn’t. All I could do was sit there with you in comfort as you told me of how such a terrible person could take advantage of you in that way. I’m so sorry you had to experience that. I wish I could have been able to do something to help you other than sit and listen. Then this Jon Stark figure came into your life, and I was terrified that he would do all the same to you that the previous had done. But I could hear it in the way you talked about him. It was so different. In a way that’s difficult to describe, especially on paper. When I formally met him, I was shocked to hear a boy of his age speak so earnestly and open. At your age, they usually say what they must to get what they want. He didn’t though. He spoke truthfully and from his heart, and that to me said he was worth giving a chance. I hope you understand how lucky you are to have gotten the chance to meet him and be with him, and it is my wish that you stay happy together. You might be a bit young for it now, but if you work through things and whatever life throws at the both of you together, I have no doubt that you will make it. You’ll be the only Targaryen in this world once I leave, until you bring in the next one. A Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing. But you are not alone. Please remember that. Hold onto Jon, hold onto Missandei, and never let go. They are the type of people who will always be there for you so long as you don’t push them away. If you think you’ve got them close, then pull them closer. That is what I can say to you._

_   
  
_

_My Dany, thank you for all that you’ve done. Thank you for taking such great care of me. I’m so sorry that I cannot stay in this world longer for you. If there was a way, I would do it. But there isn't. So we must make do with what we have. Even if it may seem like I’m not there, I am. I’ll always watch over and protect you, along with Aerys, Rhaella, Rhaegar, and Viserys. We’ll all watch over you. Whatever happens, we’ll be there. You may not see us, be we’re there. As long as you remind yourself that and believe, we will never disappear._

__

_There’s one last thing I have to tell you. It’s a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for so long. When it became my responsibility to care for you and raise you, one of the first things I decided was that I would not allow you to grow up spoiled. I wanted you to work for what you wanted. I believe that all good things must come with hard work. But perhaps I took it too far. I forgot about it for some time, but now that I write this, I must inform you of it. You are old enough to know anyways;_

__

_The Targaryens did not unite Westeros with no reward after it. Our family ruled for a great long time, and became known as one of the most powerful families. This meant money. And we had plenty of it. Your parents were quite rich business owners. They held trust funds from their own parents. Should anything happen to them, both of them willed their properties and money to me. But I have no use for it anymore, nor for my own. Which is why I’ve willed it to you. We’ve never been poor Dany. Just modest. I pray that you spend this wisely, though I trust that you will. Do what you must with it. Donate, invest, save. It’s more than enough to pay for 3 college tuitions. Hopefully you’ll still have plenty by the time your children come into this world._

__

_Do not be scared Daenerys. This world does terrible things to people who are always scared. Do not hide. Allow yourself time to grieve, then when it’s time, rise back up. Fight. Show Westeros who Daenerys Targaryen is. I don’t doubt the power you wield inside of you. But with power comes responsibility. Don’t forget to allow yourself to love others. Show compassion, but not weakness. Be kind to others, but do not let yourself be taken advantage of. I know you do not need me to tell you these things. It’s all inside of you already._

__

_My dear darling Daenerys. I love you always, never forget that. I’ll be telling your family everything about you._

__

_With great love,_

__

_Aemon Targaryen_

__

Midway through the letter, a sob broke through her, and Dany had to keep a hand over her mouth to continue reading. The moment her eyes and brain finished reading through the last letter, she dropped the paper, breaking into a fit of tears. Jon was right there next to her to scoop her up, as he gradually laid them on the couch, her body nestled between his arms and her legs tangled under and between his. Her tears rolled down her face, soaking his shirt up once more. She’ll be apologetic for it later, but for now, she couldn’t think of anything else other than letting out the emotions she felt. 

__

How could her Uncle do this to her? She already felt overwhelmed, dealing with his passing and worrying over the apartment and the bills and what would happen to her. Then he had to go tell her about an inheritance?! It was too much for her, and she wanted nothing more than to disappear from this world and not have to worry about anything else. But all she could do was cry, cry and cry. 

__

What had she done to deserve any of this? 

__

_____ 

__

Jon had never felt more powerless in his entire life than he did in that exact moment. He wanted nothing more than to stop Dany’s tears. She didn’t deserve to be in such heavy grief. He didn’t know what the letter said yet, but he knew that it must have been a lot. He sympathized with her and hurt with her. 

__

While he’d never gotten the chance to have a lot of interactions with Aemon, he knew he meant everything to Dany. And to have someone you love so much taken from you, it could mess up even the most put together person. He’d even shed a few tears of his own, though they were mainly of how upset and saddened he was to see Dany so distraught. But he couldn’t do anything more than comfort her as she cried it all out. If Aemon wanted him to take care of her, he’ll do everything in his power and more to make sure Dany knows how much he cares for her, loves her. Because he does. He does love her. And he’d be damned if he didn’t try and help the one he loves. 

__

One thing kept ringing in his mind though and wouldn’t go away, and he knew sooner or later, it would be in Dany’s mind too. Her Uncle had passed just barely over a week after her birthday. Jon shut his eyes. She’d blame herself again. She’ll blame herself for causing her Uncle’s death, no matter how much she knows it’s not her fault. 

__

_Gods, hasn’t she been through enough already? How much more until you leave her alone, and let her live peacefully?_

_   
  
  
_

_Hallelujah_

_You were an angel in the shape of my mum_

_You got to see the person that I have become_

_Spread your wing_

_And I know that when God took you back he said Hallelujah_

_You're home_

__

_Rest in Peace Aemon Targaryen_

_   
  
  
  
  
  
_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> talk to me about it in the comments !
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and also cried a little. see y'all next chapter, whenever that may be. 
> 
> songs:
> 
> "Next Right Thing" (Frozen 2) (yes frozen, leave me alone, I thought it fit pretty well)
> 
> "Supermarket Flowers" (Ed Sheeran)


	17. I can't help falling in love with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany and Jon deal with the aftermath of Aemon's death. Dany receives an unexpected guest with an interesting offer, and feelings are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was purposefully waiting to post this chapter on Valentine's Day, which is why it's been a little bit of a wait. Just a psa that I have no idea how money managers work or any of the real life stuff I've thrown in here (well I might have a grasp of a few of it). I feel like this is a little bit of a rough chapter in terms of how I wrote it, but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless :))
> 
> sorry for any grammar/ spelling mistakes or things that don't make sense. if it's a real life thing that isn't really possible or not true, don't mind it :) it's a fictional story, *it's fine*
> 
> thank you all for your kind comments and kudos, they're truly encouraging and I just love to read what you guys think.
> 
> edit: it's been brought to my attention there were a few mistakes to this chapter which were completely my fault. I apologize for those that read this before I fixed it, but hopefully it's better now. please, if you see a weird mistake that has to do with the plot, don't hesitate to tell me so I can fix it !

She felt like she’s been curled into a ball and slept inside a small hole for weeks without waking up. Her body felt sore and her eyes felt a bit sticky, probably from the never ending tears that came. But most of all, she felt empty inside. The water percentage that made up over half of her body felt like it all escaped her, leaving her dry and empty inside, her heart feeling buried deep within. 

But what didn’t go unnoticed to her was the amount of physical warmth her body was entrapped in. She’d tried to keep her eyes closed, for fear that as soon as she did, the reality of everything would come crashing back down on her. She inhaled deeply, a pleasant and  _ familiar _ scent invading her senses, if only for a good minute. Next was her sense of touch. Her legs felt like it was a tangle of limbs, a singular leg trapping both of hers. Her heart beat a little bit faster, the tiniest bit of warmth making its way to it. She finally opened her eyes, slowly. Dany drank in the sight of the person who was responsible for the warmth beginning to thrum in her veins and in her blood. 

Her heart pounded just a little bit harder when she found that he’d been looking at her the entire time and however long before. She saw the corners of his lips curve ever so slightly, the action causing her fingers to twitch, wanting to trace it. Her eyes fell down to his chest, right in front of her head. She contained a wince, but not a frown when she saw the large wet spot of darkness in his already black shirt. It looked like it was beginning to dry, but still she couldn’t help but feel bad for dirtying his shirt. He was probably disgusted right now. 

His left hand, which was draped over her right hip made its way up to her hair, gently threading through it, careful of any tangles his fingers got caught in. Her head unconsciously leaned back into his touch, her eyes fluttering close again. They stayed that way for who knows how long until he broke it. 

“How are you feelin’?”    


  
His gruff accent was only made rougher from disuse and probably sleep. It was wrong to react to that in such a way that was not appropriate, in the way that she secretly reacted, especially with everything that happened. But she needed something to hang on to. Dany didn’t know how to respond to such a question, but ultimately decided honesty was best. She didn’t have energy to lie anyways. 

“Empty. Tired…. I don’t know what to do.” 

He nodded, his fingers never stopping in her hair. His beautiful eyes took a solemn look and she decided that was the bucket of cold water that would wake her up from their bubble. 

“How did we get here?” She settled on asking, noticing how they laid under her blankets on top of her bed.. The last thing she remembered was reading the letter then crying over it. But that was on the couch. Anything after that was a complete blur. 

“You passed out from cryin’ on the couch. We stayed there for a good hour and a half, maybe two. I carried you here.”

She nodded, still confused on some things. Why didn’t he leave? After he moved her to her bed, he should have just left. He wouldn’t have to deal with her mess. It would have been so much easier for him to just go. Why didn’t he?    


  
“I… I read the letter. When I carried you here, it was just layin’ on the floor. I was just going to pick it up and leave it on the table, but… I wanted to know what it said. I’m sorry. I know it wasn’t any of my business but…” 

_ Oh.  _ She shook her head. There was no need to apologize for that. But the contents of the letter started coming back to her and she needed to pull away from him. She disentangled herself and he let her go, albeit a bit reluctantly, as her feet hit the carpet of her room floor. She didn’t get up though, just sat on the edge of the bed. She watched as her feet dangled just a little bit off the floor. Dany felt him move behind her, and then he was next to her on the edge of the mattress as well. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath. 

“Part of me wishes he hadn’t told me about it… the money. It’s too much. Both the amount and its existence in general. I don’t know how I should be reacting. One part of me is relieved that I don’t have to worry about how I’m supposed to take care of myself in terms of financial standing. Another part of me is just overwhelmed at what I’m supposed to do now. It was more than enough for me to deal with- with him  _ gone,  _ but then all this money is just piled on top of me and-  _ how do I deal with that?  _ It feels  _ wrong.  _ Like it isn’t mine. Everything that my family has stood for, all the proof of their work belongs to me now. I’m fucking  _ 18 years old, Jon!  _ I’m not a minor anymore but I have next to no idea how any of this works. I just… gods I don’t think I’ve ever felt this fucking lost in my entire life.” 

Throughout her little speech slash rant, Jon stayed silent through it all, letting her vent out her frustrations to him with no interruptions, and for that she’s grateful. But it doesn’t lift the anguish that’s still heavy in her heart. 

_ I’m barely 18 years old and now she suddenly has to live alone? I haven’t even graduated high school yet. It’s still the first semester, for fucks’ sake!  _

Dany’s heart burns with grief, and as of present, with anger. If there were gods, they were cruel. She’s heard they were supposed to be a guiding light to the people, the light in the darkness. All they’ve done was give her a life of darkness full of pain. Dany understands she isn’t a pure, good hearted person. She knows that. But she doesn’t think she’s done something so terrible to warrant such torture. 

She felt herself being pulled, and her thoughts came back to the present, where Jon had tucked her head under his chin.

“I wish I knew what to say to help you and make this all better.”

Maybe the gods sent one light to help her get through this darkness.

“You being here is enough.” And it was. If he couldn’t do anything else for her pain, then staying was the least he could do. She knew the opposite option was dismissing him away from her. She knew he’d listen to her, reluctantly, but he would listen if it was what she truly wished of him. But it wasn’t what she wanted. If he left, it would only make things worse for her. 

“Then I’ll be here. I’m not leaving.”

She didn’t want him to ever leave.

. 

A little while later, a knock is sounded through the front door, breaking the quiet between Jon and Dany. She looked at him, frowning in confusion but getting up nonetheless. She really did not feel like interacting with many other people today. When Dany opened the door, she was immediately attacked with a hug, and it took her brain a second to register who it was swarming her. Dany returned the hug, closing over her visitor. 

“Dany, oh I’m so sorry. Jon texted me what happened and he said he figured you could use some support right now so I came as soon as I could. I wish I could’ve come faster, but we were just so busy and-” Missandei rushed out and Dany softly shook her head to cut her off. 

“You don’t have to apologize. You’re here, that’s what matters… Thank you for coming. You didn’t have to, but thank you Missy.” She returned, a bit tiredly. 

Missy embraced her again, tighter this time before letting go. “Of course I’ll be here.” 

A creak of the wood behind Dany had both girls turning to see. Jon emerged from her bedroom, his lips curled into a small smile. 

“Hey, you’re here.” His hand came to rub the back of his neck. 

“Mhm. Thank you for contacting me Jon.”   


  
“Of course.” 

Dany looked at him, frowning. “Do you have to go?” Her voice held reluctance. She didn’t want him to leave her, not yet. 

He smiled sadly. “Yeah, my parents are probably looking for me right now.”    


  
Dany exhaled, her eyes finding the floor as she nodded. She turned back to Missy, who immediately nodded, getting the hint. 

“I’ll head to your room.”    
  


Dany was grateful she didn’t have to say much for her friend to understand. She wanted some privacy before Jon had to go. They stepped closer to each other, her eyes still following the  _ very interesting _ crack on the wooden floors. Both his hands found her upper arms, rubbing them up and down in comfort, her body leaning towards his. 

“Hey,” his right index finger lifted her chin to meet his eyes, where she was sure he found hers beginning to glisten with wetness. She was proven right when his expression softened more than it already had. He pulled her in, hugging her close to his chest. 

“I won’t be gone long. I’ll try and swing by in the evening, but if I can’t, then I’ll pick you up tomorrow, ‘kay? Missy’s here, she’ll keep you company until then.” 

Dany bit her lip, preventing herself from letting any tears slip and fall past her. She didn’t want to be crying over something as small as this, yet somehow it didn’t feel as small to her. She wiped at her eyes, but her actions proved futile when they only filled more. 

“Okay,’’ she nodded watery. “I’ll be okay.” 

“Dany,” he called her name, forcing her to look at him straight in the eyes. “If it gets really bad, call me, okay? I didn’t want for you to be alone, that's why I called Missandei. You _ shouldn’t _ be alone.”    


  
She nodded again. She understood why he had to go. He had his own life too. He couldn’t just pause everything because she was going through something. It would be extremely selfish of her to keep him for her benefit. But still, she didn’t want him to leave. 

His thumb wiped away at a tear that fell against her wishes. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but decided not to, instead only threading through her hair. 

Maybe it was because she was overwhelmed and sickened with grief that her emotions were all over the place at the moment, but as she looked upon his face, the way his eyebrows pinched together slightly looking at her, his eyes as open and vast as the Narrow Sea when looking at her, she wanted to ignore everything that happened the past 24 hours. Ignore that it ever happened and just stay in this moment with him.

She leaned forward, her toes standing up a bit and she crashed her mouth on his, holding him tightly by the back of his neck to prevent him from pulling away. Her tears began to slip down, mixing in with the connection of their lips. She felt him hesitate and she forced herself to push forward, to try and deepen it and keep herself there. He returned it, kissing her just as hungerly. And suddenly, she felt something inside of her snap, and the gates of herself being flooded open with emotion. Dany could feel herself shaking as she angled herself to get  _ more of him _ , could feel herself trembling as tears flooded down to their fused mouths, refusing to let go of him. She knew he felt them when he tried to pull away, but the hand behind his neck prevented him as she practically clung to him. 

“Dany,” she felt him murmur against her lips, trying to get her off but she just  _ couldn’t.  _ She felt the overwhelming need to hold onto him as tightly as she could and never let go, and maybe,  _ just maybe,  _ the gods won’t take him away from her like they did with everyone else. 

“Dany, _ Dany stop _ ,” he finally pulled away, and they were both left heaving for oxygen. He looked at her with his eyes wide, and it suddenly catches up to her what she did, and she doesn’t think she could feel even worse than she already does. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that. I didn’t mean to- Jon I didn’t mean to-” She blubbers, but cuts herself off, interrupted with a sob that wracks her whole body. He comes to her then shaking his head softly and trying to comfort her but she backs away. 

“It’s not your fault Dany. I don’t want you to-  _ gods,  _ you’re hurting a lot right now. And I wish you weren’t. But I won’t let you do things you’ll regret later because you let your emotions take over.”    


  
She nods numbly, not really processing what he’s saying, instead allowing herself to feel bad for her own doing. He sighs, and she has the slightest fear that he’s frustrated with her. 

“I-I have to go now. I’ll call you later. If you need anything, just call me or tell MIssy. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She nods again, not saying anything and he places a soft kiss on her forehead before walking past her and leaving, the door behind him clicking shut quietly. She stands there, unsure of what to do. She realizes that Missy is currently in her room waiting for her. When she walks to the hallway, her mind replays her conversation with Jon. 

_ “I won’t let you do things you’ll regret later…”  _

What was that supposed to mean? 

The sentence plagued her mind even as she and Missy talked for hours, with Dany breaking down a couple of times, and was especially prominent when they were just sitting in silence with each other.

“What happened with you and Jon outside?” 

The silence was broken with her question. Dany blinked, acting as if she didn’t know what she was talking about even though she did. 

“What?”    


  
“You and Jon. You took a while out there. Then you came in here and you just looked… off. I mean, other than the obvious reason as to why you might be ‘off’.” 

She didn’t want to tell Missy the whole truth, but she was never one to hide secrets from her (although there were a couple instances where Dany ‘forgot’ to tell her about some things). 

“It’s embarrassing.” 

“Try me.” 

Dany heaved out a sigh. “I didn’t want him to leave. I don’t know why, but I just suddenly feel so..  _ clingy,  _ for lack of a better term I guess. I kissed him, but in a way where he felt like I was forcing myself to, probably because I started crying like a little baby during and I still didn’t want to let him go. And he said it wasn’t my fault, but that he didn’t want me doing something impulsive because my emotions were everywhere at the moment. I don’t know what he meant by that.” 

Missy looked to be thinking over what she just said. Then she gave Dany a look that said something along the lines of ‘aren’t you supposed to be super smart, why can’t you figure this out for yourself?’ kind of look. But Dany truly didn’t know. 

“Nevermind.” She waved her hand to dismiss the subject. “He probably just meant he didn’t want you doing things that you’ll regret in the future.” 

“But what things?” She asked, a bit of impatience leaking through her voice. 

“Anything. He’s just trying to protect you, okay? And so am I.” 

When Dany made no move to respond, Missy sighed and took both of Dany’s hands into hers. 

“Listen, you know we’re not trying to say that you’re incapable of making logical decisions for yourself right? We just want to look out for you Daenerys. In any way we can.” 

Dany was still confused over the whole deal, but decided to just drop it. So she nodded, not wanting to further complicate things. Her entire body was beginning to grow tired anyways. 

_____ 

A week had passed by like a blur. In that week, she’d manage to plan and have a small funeral service for Uncle Aemon. It was quite small, just her, Missy, and Jon. She didn’t know who else to contact about his passing, but decided that there didn’t need to be many people. As long as her Uncle’s body was put to rest, she’ll deal with the rest. 

Her teachers were informed of her recent loss through Missandei (thank the gods for her) so Dany wouldn’t be questioned for her slow actions in the class. She’d been quite slow as of recently with school, her mind not fully focused on her education. Her teachers looked at her with pity, but said nothing of it, only occasionally walking by to ask if she needed assistance (she declined every single time). Jon and Missy tried to help her as best as they could, trying to find her during passing periods to walk with her, never leaving her alone at lunch and one of them always trying their best to stay with her after school as long as they could to the point where one of them would be there before she went to bed, and somebody would be there to pick her up for school the next day. Dany’s empty-feeling heart swelled with the affection she had for her best friend and boyfriend, forever grateful for everything they’ve done to help her. But the negative part of her always felt terrible for asking so much from them, even if she wasn’t outright asking them. Of course, they brushed off her concerns, continuing to do their thing everyday.

It was finally Saturday again, and she had woken up late, glancing at her alarm to see it was around 9 am. It wasn’t a school day, and her entire body was just exhausted, as if it just needed a week long sleep to recover from everything. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking. 

It’d been a week since her Uncle died. A week since she’s been living alone. A week of her two closest people trying their best to help her. It had only been a week and she was just so  _ tired  _ of everything. How could she possibly go on like this? Dany felt her grades beginning to slip slowly, and she feared for what that might mean. Would everything else after this just go down hill? The thought scared her and made her terrified of what’s to come for her future.

A loud knock interrupted her thoughts. She reached over to her nightstand and picked up her phone, seeing a text from Jon saying he was going to come by a little bit later than he’d intended as something came up. She figured that was him at the door. 

Dany allowed herself to get up slowly, her movements sluggish as she made her way to the bathroom to freshen herself up as much as she could for the day. After she patted her face dry with a towel, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eye bags were more prominent and getting puffy as well as turning purple almost. She looked like a right monster. Three more louder knocks at the front door surprised her, making her jump a bit at the forceness behind them. Was Jon so impatient? Did something make him angry? She didn’t want to upset him even more, so she hurried herself to the door, opening it. 

On the other side, was  _ not  _ Jon. In fact, she didn’t even see anyone there until she heard a throat clear. 

“Oh, good. I was about to think you weren’t here.”    


  
Dany looked down and was surprised to see a very short, gruffy man looking up at her. Her eyes immediately widened. 

“Uh, who are you? What are you doing here?”    
  


The short man gave a small huff and walked past her, inviting himself into her apartment.

“Excuse me-”    


  
“I’m Tyrion Lannister. And you are Daenerys Targaryen.” 

She stared at the little man- uh, Tyrion. She was already wary of him when he came here, much more now that she knew he knew her name. 

“But  _ who  _ are you? How do you know me? And what are you doing here, inside  _ my  _ apartment?” She had so many more questions to ask, but decided those were more important first. 

He tsked. “Already bouncing to the questions I see. Don’t worry, I’ll answer them. But tell me, the polite way to greet visitors is to offer them a drink, no?”    


  
Dany only stared at him. He sighed. 

“Be it as it may, I suppose.” 

“What are you doing here?” She crossed her arms, feeling defensive. Who does this man think he is, waltzing in here like he belongs here? She should call the police or something and tell them how a short gruffy man invited himself into her apartment without her consent. But Dany looked upon this Tyrion Lannister man again and felt he didn’t seem like a threat. 

“You may have some questions as to why I’m here.”    


  
She raised an eyebrow at his opening statement. Tyrion walked to the couch in the living room and sat, folding his hands on his little lap. 

“Again, I am Tyrion Lannister. I was Aemon Targaryen’s daily money manager, whom I believe is your Uncle. I assisted him with taking care of the apartment bills, managing medical bills, all the  _ very fun stuff.  _ I even rode out his will for him. Needless to say, your bank account is quite full right now, but safe of course.” 

She looked at him suspiciously this time. “You’re not getting my money.”

“And I don’t want your money. I want your apartment.” 

She couldn’t help but make a face at his statement, scrunching her face up and looking at him with a sort of disdain. 

“And where do you suppose I live? Out on the streets?”

The dwarf of a man inhaled and sighed, and she could tell he was getting a bit frustrated with her. 

“As I was saying, I want your apartment. I’ll even make sure the money goes straight to you. But you need not worry for yourself. I may live in this apartment and own it under my name, but I won’t kick you out. This will still be your home.” 

Dany looked at him for a moment. This Tyrion Lannister guy wanted to buy her Uncle’s apartment from her and still allow her to live here? If she allowed him, she’d have no problem or worries trying to manage it herself at 18. But this offer felt almost too good to be true. 

“And why should I let you do that? Why would you even want to buy this apartment, of all places?”

“Because I know you need me, whether you know that or not. And I need you. Er, this apartment, more specifically. I have no need for you or your money. If you might know, I come from a very wealthy family. But I’ve recently divorced my wife and she is keeping our house. I have no desire to find another lavish mansion that would only house one person. I thought it would be fun to live so modestly for once.”

She wanted to scoff at his offer. Tell him he can go stick it elsewhere and shoo him out. But she knew she couldn’t. He was right, she did need him. If she were to turn down this offer, she’d find herself living out homeless in the streets, not that she doubted that Jon or Missy would try and house her. It’s only been a week and Dany was already growing desperate and stressed in terms of what to do with her living situation. 

“If I were to let you buy this apartment, you’ll take care of all the bills?” She had to be sure. If he was going to depend on her to pay for things using her money, then he could turn around and leave right now. But he nodded hyperly. 

“With my own money. Keep your inheritance money to yourself. You’re still quite young, you’ll need it for your future. You won’t have to worry about spending a dime. Unless you so happen to want things for your personal use. Then you’ll have to get your own wallet out.”

This felt too good to be true. There had to be some catch. Dany couldn’t bring herself to trust that this man would simply take care of her apartment for her. It couldn’t just go out like this, it couldn’t. 

“I can see you’re quite hesitant. That’s smart. You should never trust anybody all willy-nilly. But I assure you that I bring no harm. I thought it would be doing us both a big favor.” 

She found herself nodding, slowly at first, then faster as she grew a little more certain of her decision. Tyrion looked quite pleased with her answer. 

“Very well then. I’ll begin making the necessary arrangements and contacts when I get home this evening.” 

He got up from the couch, making his way to shake her hand. Before she shook it, she had one more question. 

“Wait- my Uncle, he told me all of my families’ properties belonged to me now. I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to do with them. I don’t know that I’ve even seen them all before.” 

“We’ll get to that once I’ve settled down here. Before you decide to sell any of them, I think it would be wise to see them for what they are first, and then you can decide over it. But that is for another time.” 

She nodded, then bent down to shake his hand, standing up straight afterwards. 

“It was a-”    
  


_ Knock Knock Knock _

Both Dany and Tyrion’s heads turned to the front door.  _ Jon,  _ Dany thought at once. That had to be him. 

“Excuse me one moment.” She excused herself to open the door for him. 

There she found him with a brown paper bag, which she curiously looked at. He held it up, grinning. 

“Breakfast. I figured you haven’t eaten anything so I decided to swing by to Hot Pie’s to grab you something.”    


  
She returned a small smile back, touched that he had thought of her. She stepped back to let him in through the door and he walked in. She shut the door and turned around, almost stepping into his back when he paused in his steps. Dany inwardly cursed herself. How did she manage to forget she had a guest in a matter of 2 minutes? She walked around Jon, putting herself next to him. 

“Oh, uh Jon. This is Tyrion Lannister. He is- _ was _ , uh my Uncle’s money manager. He came here to offer to buy the apartment off me and still allow me to live here. Tyrion this is Jon Stark, my boyfriend.” 

She cringed at that introduction.  _ What even was that?  _ But the two men seemed to ignore her awkwardness and stare at each other instead. She noticed Jon nodding but regarding Tyrion with a guarded look. Tyrion seemed to be staring Jon up and down, as if he recognized him. 

“Did you say Jon Stark?” He repeated to her. 

“Aye, that’s me.” Jon answered instead. 

“Son of Ned Stark?” 

“His second son, aye. Do you know my father?” 

Tyrion seemed to have a realization moment. “I do know him. Met him a few times. I wouldn’t go as far to say that we’re the best of friends, but we’re familiar with each other. It’s been some time. It’s a pleasure to meet one of his sons.” 

Just as Tyrion did with her, he stuck his small hand out for Jon to shake. He eyed his hand carefully before politely shaking back. 

“A Targaryen and a Stark. Can’t say I’ve seen much of that. But no matter, I’ll leave you two youngings alone and be on my merry way. Daenerys, I’ll contact or swing by once I’ve had the details all handled and planned.”

She nodded and she and Jon both watched as Tyrion walked himself out the front door. As soon as he left, Dany’s eyes fell down to the brown bag in his hands.    


  
“You hungry?” He followed her eyes. 

  
“Yeah. Woke up to him banging on the door so I didn’t have much time to eat.” 

“Let’s get some food in you then. We can talk more over it.” 

He settled down in the kitchen, taking a plate out of the cupboards and putting it on the table, moving like someone who knew her apartment as if it were his own. He took the food out of the bag, and placed it on the plate, revealing to her a whole bagel and a muffin. Her stomach grumbled at the sight of it. 

After she had gotten a few bites of her food in, Jon allowed himself to talk. 

“So, he’s buying the apartment off you? And still letting you live here? How does that work exactly?”    


  
She shrugged, making sure to finish chewing before speaking. 

“He said he wanted to try living ‘modestly’ after he and his wife divorced and she kicked him out of the house. Apparently he’s super rich, so he doesn’t have a problem with handling the bills and major groceries and stuff like that. So I let him. I have no idea how to live on my own yet so I don’t have a choice but to let him take it. As long as I still have somewhere to stay, then it’s fine I guess.” 

“My parents could have taken you in. They told me to tell you that they’ll be happy to house you for as long as you need.”    


  
Dany shook her head quickly at that. “I couldn’t ask that of your family. Even if they were the ones offering. I feel bad enough for everything else as it is. I need to be able to figure some things out for myself. And I’ve decided to let Tyrion buy my apartment.”    


  
Jon nodded, sitting back in his seat from across her and crossing his arms. “But do you think you can trust him?”

She thought about it. Trust him? No, definitely not. She’d only just met the guy a moment ago. But what else was there for her to do? It wasn’t like she had a bunch of options lying around. 

Dany shrugged. “I don’t have a choice. He doesn’t seem like the type to kill me in my sleep. He did manage my Uncle’s bills and account, as well as his will and all my inheritance stuff. Hasn’t taken it for his own so far. And he’s rich. I don’t have much that a rich guy would want to take from me.” 

Jon frowned at that. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. I just want to make sure that you’re safe and that this whole… situation isn’t a suspicious one.” 

“I don’t think it will be. But I have to take what I can get.” It wasn’t smart, but there was nothing else that could be done but that. Jon nodded and seemed to drop the subject, and the table was quiet again, save for Dany’s movements in her breakfast. 

“How long are you staying?” Dany asked him, wanting to fill the silence between them. 

“A while, I think. Dinner, maybe?”    


  
That was indeed a while. 

“You don’t have to keep doing this you know? I’ll be fine. You and Missy don’t have to keep babysitting me all the time.” 

He frowned again. “It’s not babysitting. We just don’t want you to be alone for now. Or feel that you’re alone. And I know you’re going to say otherwise, but I know you. You stay in this apartment all day long unless Missandei or I take you out of it. And I don’t want you in here by yourself all day long. We’re just trying to look out for you.” He finished by taking a hold of her hand across the table, looking at her with big, honest eyes. 

“Okay.” She finished her breakfast and cleaned it up. After she came back from using the restroom, she found Jon leaning back on the back of the sofa, arms crossed. 

“What do you feel like doing today?” 

She didn’t feel much like going out today. To her, the day had barely started, despite it being almost lunch time. Dany walked over to him, and he opened up to her like it was an instinct. 

“I don’t really wanna go out today. Can we just… I don’t know, stay inside?”    


  
He huffed a small laugh above her. “Aye, we can do that love. Let’s watch some tv.” 

There it was again.  _ The name.  _ Did he even realize he was saying it? Was he saying it on purpose? Or was it just a slip of the tongue? But either way, doesn’t it mean he does feel for her in that way? Her heart beat a little faster as he turned the television on and she curled herself up into him, her stomach in so many knots. 

Should she tell him? Or would he think she was just confused with all her emotions? Gods, she really needed to stop questioning herself. But she didn’t even know if she was ready to say it. She had no idea if they were in that stage of their relationship. She didn’t want Jon to think of her as weird or desperate or confused, but she couldn’t keep it in any longer. She had to tell him. After her talk with Missy over this, Dany knew her friend was right. She’ll never know how Jon feels until she tells him. 

After all, this was the boy who’d been there for her every time since they’ve been together. Granted, they haven’t been together for that long, but it was never really about the amount of time in between to Dany. It was the moments, and how they were spent. He was there when she told him about Drogo. He was there when she told him about her family. He was there to comfort her and shield her away from embarrassment after a terrible panic attack at a party. He was the one her Uncle approved wholly of, and appointed to watch over her. It was  _ Jon  _ who was there and  _ is  _ there to help her over her grief. If that wasn’t enough to warrant her feelings for him, then she didn’t know what was. 

“Jon?” 

“Yeah?”   


  
She could hear the wide smile in his voice after a particularly humorous scene in the movie they were watching. It eased her nerves a bit. Dany scooted herself closer to him, effectively molding herself into the side of his body. She smiled to herself when his arm around her got tighter and his head rested above hers. 

“I love you.” 

She felt him tense against her and she immediately froze up. 

_ No, no, no, shit no. He doesn’t feel the same way for you. Gods, Dany why are you so stupid?! You stupid, gullible b- _

Dany quickly moved away from him, her eyes looking at him, horrified. 

_____ 

“You don’t feel the same. I-I should’ve known. I’m sorry, forget I ever said that. I shouldn’t have-” 

It took Jon a moment to process what she was saying, and once he did, he started shaking his fervently. 

“No. No, Dany that’s not- no. You’re misunderstanding. Please, sit down and let me talk.” He tried to coax her into sitting down and staying, seeing as she was already halfway up and ready to retreat into her room. Thankfully, she listened, but sat herself much farther away from him on the couch as he would have preferred. 

She told him she loved him.  _ Dany just told him she loved him.  _ Shit, what was that supposed to mean? Other than the obvious of course. A million thoughts were flying in his head at once. The most notable one being the deal he made.  _ The fucking bet,  _ he thought bitterly. 

_ “If she says ‘I love you’ first, I'll owe $200. If you say it, you owe double.”  _

Dany had just said it first. 

And the very first thought that came to his mind was that  _ he won.  _

He couldn’t care less or give a shit about a win like that. No, it was that he didn’t know what to do next.  _ What happens now? What do I do now?  _

_ Maybe tell her you fucking love her first would be a good start dumbass.  _

He snapped himself out of his head and saw how terrified she looked. He saw the way her chest shook as she tried her best to take deep, steady breaths to calm herself down. He should definitely tell her how he feels first. He did not want her to think he didn’t feel the same. 

“Dany, will you please come closer?” He wasn’t going to say it like this, a million miles apart. She moved closer to him  _ by an inch.  _ He knew she wouldn’t budge much more than that, so he’d have to take the initiative. He moved to her, taking her in his arms the way she was before her declaration. She looked at him directly in his eyes, her eyes searching and he did the same to hers. If he didn’t say anything, he feared she would close herself up. 

“I love you. I love you  _ so much more  _ than you probably think.”    


  
“Then why didn’t you say anything after I said it?” Her voice sounded timid, and he mentally kicked himself. He doesn’t think he’s heard her talk so timidly and quietly in a long time.  _ Fix it, Snow! _

“Because… because I was shocked. I wasn’t expecting you to say it. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought it before. Hell, Dany if I’m being honest, I think I loved you since a while ago.” 

He couldn’t tell her the real reason he froze up. Not now. Especially not now. 

Something inside him melted when he saw the growing smile on her beautiful face. Her eyes smiled with it, and he swore he could see it sparkling. She looked…  _ happy.  _

_ He definitely couldn’t tell her the truth now.  _

“You’re honest?”    


  
“So honest.” He confirmed. “Everytime I called you ‘love’, I didn’t say it to lie or make you feel better.  _ I love you Daenerys Targaryen.” Gods,  _ it felt so good to say. 

She brought her lips to his, sealing the words with a kiss and he feels so relieved. He’s glad she’s forgotten his tiny mishap. Damn the consequences. They could be dealt with later. The only thing that mattered to him at the moment was the making the girl in his arms feel as happy as she could for the rest of her life. He didn’t want to let her Uncle down. And so he’ll do whatever he has to to make her happy. And if it’s to hide the truth, then so be it. 

“I love you too Jon Snow Stark.” 

She said against his lips and he could feel her smile, causing one to grow on his face as well, before diving back down to capture it with his mouth. 

Yes, he’ll do whatever he must to make this girl happy. No win, no matter how big or small would ever come before her happiness. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you're welcome. they finally said it. what happens now? tune in next time and find out. chapter 18 is already a little bit halfway done, I should get that out pretty soon, maybe Sunday or Monday. 
> 
> hope you liked reading that, and Happy Valentines day. Regardless of whether or not you have a significant other to share the day with, I'm sure all of you have someone you love and someone who loves you back, even if it isn't in romantic terms. I understand the sarcasm and bitterness associated with this holiday, but try not to let it shadow you. give that person you love a little extra, well, love today. I guarantee you'll feel much better doing so than sitting and moping. 
> 
> also
> 
> psst. there may or may not be smut next chapter, just sayin... ;)


	18. You are perfection, my only direction; it's fire on fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany seal their relationship and love with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao, remember when I said I would be able to update this story LAST Monday? well, here I am a WEEK LATE with a new chapter. I could say that I was caught up with some stuff, but most of my week was spent binge-watching one of my favorite old shows whenever I had the free time. that's why this is late. (show's called 'Grimm' if any of you were wondering or were interested).also I've noticed all the comments on the last chapter asking if Tyrion was trustworthy or not in this fic. don't worry about him. Dany has enough problems to deal with, so Tyrion is what he says he is.
> 
> anyways, here's your chapter.
> 
> and yes, the rating has been changed.

_ 2 months later _

  
  


It’s mid-January now, which means it’s still snowing and  _ freezing. _ She was  _ not  _ built for this type of weather. Of course, she had to live in Winterfell of all places, the coldest fucking place in probably all of the planet.

Dany pattered around her apartment, getting ready to turn in for the night. She just finished brushing her teeth when she heard the front door open and close. Tyrion must be home now. 

A couple days after his visit, Tyrion had come over with her apartment complex’s contractor, and had managed to transfer the name of the apartment’s owner to Tyrion. He began moving his stuff in as soon as he could, and she had to help him with trying to fit it all in with the other things that were once her Uncle’s that she wanted to keep. Any other things that weren’t really needed were sold and he had allowed her to keep the money for herself. About a month later, he was fully settled in, and thus began the awkwardness of trying to live with a strange man. She soon found her fridge stocked with bottles of wine, so it shouldn’t have surprised her to come home from school to see Tyrion drunkenly talking to the tv. She hated it at first, knowing first hand the effects of alcoholism, but he never paid any mind to her protests. 

_ “I am an old man. I’m quite capable of knowing what is and what is not good for me. I don’t need a child telling me what to do.”  _

Dany had argued with him on it a few times. First of all, she was not a child. Second of all, he clearly didn’t know what was good for him and his health. But after numerous times of arguing, Dany dropped it, knowing she was only wasting her time and energy by telling a stubborn man what to do. 

Other than the drinking problem, she found that he loved to spend his free night outs trying to meet other women. All of Tyrion’s flaws had disgusted Dany at first, and she began second guessing her decision to let him take the apartment, but she decided that at least it kept them both at a distance from each other. She didn’t really feel the need to become close with the man. As long as his wine drinking doesn’t do anything to actively affect her and he doesn’t bring any women home, she was fine with whatever he did. 

Jon, however, was not quite as impressed with him. 

He expressed his distaste and distrust for the older man quite frequently. She tried to tell him that it didn’t really matter to her, that as long as Tyrion stayed out of her way, she didn’t really care. He was still quite skeptical. 

Other than having to deal with Tyrion, Dany had a few rocky moments trying to get back on her own feet by herself, without having Jon or Missy shadow her all the time. There were definitely days where she locked herself in her room all day long until someone pulled her out of the little trance. When it began nearing the holiday season, she wanted nothing more than to shut teh rest of the world out. She was fully prepared to spend Thanksgiving alone. Tyrion would be out of the house for the day anyways. Every Thanksgiving day before, she and Uncle Aemon would order something somewhere, a little bit more than what they would usually have for a regular dinner, and eat it together. That was basically it. She decided she would just grab a sandwich from somewhere for herself for this day. 

It was her plan until Missy came barging through the front door in the afternoon, telling her to get dressed. 

_ “Missy? What’re you doing here?”  _ _   
_

_   
_ _ “To tell you to get out of those pajamas and into something nicer looking.”  _ _   
  
_

_ “Why?”  _ _   
_

_   
_ _ “Because you’re spending Thanksgiving with us. No buts, no exceptions. You’re coming with me. And I’m giving you 15 minutes to get yourself ready. Then I am dragging you out of here.”  _

There had been no room to fight her friend that day, and she was left with no choice but to follow the instructions. Missandei’s family had welcomed her warmly, and dinner was a pleasant and modest affair. She was grateful for them letting her spend the feasting day with them. 

When it came close to Christmas time, Dany found it to be a darker time than Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was not normally a grand affair to her, but Christmas time always rang differently to her. Sure, she didn’t have much family to spend it with, but at least she had her Uncle with her, and that was enough. But he wasn’t here with her anymore, and the holidays had somehow lost its magical touch for her. 

That is, until Jon came knocking on her door that time. He pretty much told her the exact instructions that Missy had given her, but with a much kinder, less-commanding tone. She tried to argue with him, saying that she didn’t and shouldn’t barge in on family affairs and she had a feeling the Starks had their own family traditions that she could never imagine herself intruding upon. Of course, he only argued that his family all wanted her to come, and she was yet again left with no choice but to comply. Christmas Eve dinner was definitely exciting for her, having never had a full family to dine with. She had eaten so much that night, and laughed harder than she ever had since her Uncle’s passing. When it came to unwrapping the gifts, Dany apologized profusely for not being able to buy any of them presents, Jon especially, but they all dismissed it, saying it was really no issue to them, they didn’t truly need gifts. 

Dany had watched on with mirth and lightness in her eyes and her heart watching the family open their presents, some were touching, while others were gag gifts that had everyone laughing. She snuggled up to Jon the entire gift opening time. He had pulled away from her at one point though, getting up to get two small box shaped gifts before returning back to his spot next to her. She looked at them curiously, but felt herself frown when he thrust the boxes to her. 

_ “They’re for you.”  _

_ “You got me something?”  _ _   
_

_   
_ _ “Two somethings actually. Go ahead. Open it.”  _

The entire Stark family was watching her, and she nervously opened the first box. Her heart swelled with so much love to unwrap the gift and see a beautiful dragon pendant necklace inside the necklace box. Dany couldn’t contain the smile on her face as he helped her put it on. 

_ “I saw it and I thought it’d be a pretty fitting gift for you. It looks beautiful on you.”  _

She desperately wanted not to blush so hard at that. Dany wasn’t sure how his siblings and parents would take to watching their son and brother be so cheesy and gushy in front of them. Luckily though, they didn’t seem to care all that much. However, there was still a second smaller box to be opened. She unwrapped the wrapping paper to see it looked like a small music box. Dany looked at Jon, her appreciation written all over her face. 

_ “Open it.”  _

So she did. What she saw inside was not what she expected, causing her heart to skip a beat then beat harder, faster. 

_ Two rings.  _

Dany looked at them, her eyebrows pushed together so hard. What was this supposed to mean? Jon took one of the rings from the box, the simple silver, criss crossed interlocking one. He slid it to his ring finger on his left hand.

_ “Put it on.”  _

She picked up the ring from its holder, setting the small box aside. She inspected the piece of jewelry first. It was a beautiful silver ring that had a similar interlocking pattern as Jon’s with a simple diamond in the middle of it. On the inside of the ring were the engraved words: 

_ My Queen.  _

Dany was near tears as she studied the ring, looking up at Jon and unsure of what this gift was. 

_ “They’re promise rings.”  _

It was all he needed to say as she slipped on the ring to the same finger on her left hand that he put his on.  _ Promise rings meant love and commitment.  _ Dany was sure she had on the biggest smile on her face, high on so much happiness. She wanted to kiss him hard right then and there, but the realization that his family was still staring at them was enough to make her wait for when they were alone. His family had erupted into melted expressions, touched by what they had just witnessed (except Arya of course, and Bran and Rickon, they didn’t really understand what just transpired). 

Soon the night came to a close, and she had to bid the Starks goodbye. She thanked them many times for their generosity, and if it was possible, thanked Jon even more for everything. The gift, inviting her over, helping her,  _ everything _ . They kissed passionately underneath a mistletoe before he reluctantly let her go. He would see her again soon anyways, for his birthday was coming up on the 26th, the day after Christmas. 

Jon’s birthday was spent at Winterfell Park, where they had their first date. It was full of snow at that time of year. She wanted to drive him out and spend the day with him there. At first, she felt guilty for taking him away from his family on his birthday, knowing they’d probably wanted to spend the day with him, but he reassured him that it was fine, his family would just eat outside for dinner later. Dany did her best to plan out his birthday date, wanting nothing to go wrong. She planned to eat at Davos’ Pizzeria, wanting to get Jon and his old family friend interacting again. Then, they would go to Winterfell Park and spend the rest of their time there doing whatever they wanted. Granted, it wasn’t a grand birthday plan, but Dany hoped it was enough for him. 

Sure enough, it was. They spent the whole day laughing and talking about everything and nothing. Then they made an impulsive decision. Or more like  _ she did.  _

_ “We should get matching tattoos.”  _

_ “I’m sorry, what?”  _

_ “Matching tattoos. I think it’d be pretty cute. If you want to, that is.”  _

_ “You know I’d do anything with you. I mean, as long as the design is small.” _

So they had gotten a spur-of-the-moment matching tattoos. As Dany thought back to it, it may not have been the smartest idea in the world, but what’s done was done, and she didn’t really regret it. They had gotten the tattoos on their wrists, Dany’s on her left and Jon’s on his right. They were deciding whether to have a sun on Dany’s wrist and a moon on his, or even have the word ‘ _ wolf’  _ on Dany and  _ ‘dragon’  _ on Jon. In the end, they decided to go for a king and queen one, small enough to be modest (and easy to hide). She didn’t know why Jon loved calling her his queen so much, but she was okay with it if it meant she got to call him her king. 

She had the word ‘ _ queen’  _ in cursive inked to her wrist, small but spread wide enough that its beginning and end reached the sides of her wrist, and the same was for Jon with ‘ _ king’.  _

Dany even paid for the cost (much to Jon’s dismay). All in all, they were happy with what they got, and Jon was especially satisfied and content with Dany’s ‘gift’ to him and their date. 

The past two months had been what she could probably consider a good healing period. Yes, it still definitely hurt like alcohol on an open wound whenever she thought about her missing Uncle, but Dany could feel herself getting better. Especially with people like Missy and Jon around, including their extremely kind and generous families. 

Dany heard some noise out in the kitchen from her bedroom, and she glanced at her clock. She wanted to head to bed and retire for the night, but she felt the need to go check on Tyrion and make sure he didn’t pass out on the floor again. 

She went outside, and unsurprisingly, she found him pouring himself a glass of wine. 

“Daenerys. I thought you were already asleep.” He said, putting the wine bottle away and walking to the living room. 

“I was about to head to bed, then I heard you. Why are you drinking at 10 o’clock at night?” 

“Because work was a bitch today.” He took a sip from the glass. 

Dany rolled her eyes behind him.  _ I guess work’s a bitch everyday then.  _

“Whatever. I’m going to sleep. Just keep it down, alright? I have school tomorrow, and unlike you, I want to be at my best.” 

She was about to turn around and go back to her room when he stopped her. 

“Wait. Stay up a little longer with me. I feel like I could use a good talk.” 

Dany looked at him weirdly, but decided to listen to him. She took a seat on the arm chair across from him. “What do you want?” 

“It’s been nearly 2 months since I’ve been living here, and yet I know next to nothing about you. I feel it’s usually custom for someone to know or at least be familiar with the person they’re living with.” 

_ Special exceptions can be made for us,  _ she thought. 

“What do you want to know?”    


  
“Anything. Tell me about yourself, your life story. Why are you so bothered with my taste for wine? That’d be a good place to start.” 

She was  _ definitely  _ not telling him her life story at the stage they were at right now. Maybe someday, but Dany couldn’t see that day being anywhere in the near future. 

“My dad was an alcoholic. He died from it.” There. Plain and simple. 

Tyrion’s eyebrows raised at this, pausing in his actions to take a sip from his glass. He lowered the glass to the coffee table next to the couch. 

“Did he?” 

“I’m not playing games here Tyrion.” 

“No. Of course you’re not. You’re much smarter than that. I just didn’t know, is all. An alcoholic you say? And was he always like that? Or was there a reason behind it?”    


  
Dany shook her head and shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is he drank himself to his literal death. So I know first hand how bad excessive drinking can do to you.” 

Tyrion didn’t answer back right away. Instead, he looked like he drifted off somewhere, zoning out on her for a bit. Then he snapped out of his daze, turning his attention back to her. 

“I understand where you’re coming from, and your refusal to tell me more of yourself. Perhaps one day we’ll come to a point where you and I will be more comfortable and open with each other on such things. Maybe even be friends.” 

_ Yeah, don’t count on it.  _

“I thank you for your concern for my well being Daenerys, I do. But there are just some things in life, my life more specifically, that can only be helped by drowning in a good cup of wine and forgetting all about your problems. You’re young right now, not quite old enough to drink. But maybe in the future, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.” 

Dany scowled at him as he took back the glass of wine and continued watching the television. She wanted to argue with him. She would never become an alcoholic. She vowed to herself she would never stoop that low in her life. But it would be a one sided and useless argument, so she took this as her cue to leave him be and go to sleep. 

_____ 

“You okay there?” 

Jon looked amusedly at Dany as she tried to pretend she wasn’t shivering and chattering. 

“I’m  _ fine.”  _

Except, she didn’t sound  _ fine.  _ She sounded like she was close to freezing. 

“Take my sweater.” 

“No, you need it. You’re gonna get cold.” She refused him. Of course she would. 

He chuckled at her refusal and stubbornness. “Compared to you, I’m far more used to the cold. Take it Dany, I’ll be fine.” 

She opened her mouth to say something back, but shivered instead, and she took one last glance at his sweater that he held out in hand for her before snatching it from him, hurriedly putting it on. Jon chuckled again at that. They were currently walking back to his motorcycle (which was eventually given back to him after his punishment) after eating lunch, and were on their way back to school. Since it was right in the middle of January, it was especially snowy, which meant it was  _ cold.  _ Jon was a man of the North, always had been. It was in his very bones, which was probably why he wasn’t as affected by the cold. Well, not as affected as his poor girlfriend.  _ A southern girl,  _ he thought and smiled to himself. It didn’t really help her case that she was being stubborn about taking his help either, but eventually the cold won her out, and she took it.  _ Might as well keep it.  _ He couldn’t deny how  _ adorable  _ she looked in his sweater, her small figure swamped by it. 

“Better?” He smirked at her.

Dany rolled her eyes, nudging her shoulder against his. “Whatever. But yes,  _ so much  _ better.” 

Jon chuckled at her, throwing an arm around her to give her waist a light pinch. She squealed, jumping in his arms. She glared at him, punching his arm. He fake pouted, rubbing his arm.

“Ow. That hurt.” 

Dany rolled her eyes again. “You’re an ass.” She tried to hide a smile from him.

“Oh yeah? But you still love this ass.” 

Before she could react, Jon brought his hands to either side of her waist and tickled her. She started laughing, trying to get away from his wiggling fingers. He loved watching her reaction to getting tickled, thinking it was the cutest thing ever. She managed to get away from his touch, running to his bike in sight.

He caught up to her, trapping her body between his and his bike, his hands resting on the seat of the motorcycle behind her. Jon admired her lovely face from this close, bumping noses with her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Away from being tickled.” She held a challenging tone in her voice when she responded. 

“By going to  _ my  _ motorcycle, knowing  _ I  _ have the keys, and you can’t leave without me?” 

He watched in amusement as she tried to find an excuse or an answer for that, though they both knew full well she had no argument against him. However, she did find herself a solution by capturing his mouth with hers, humming lightly against him. For a minute,  _ or was it three?  _ He couldn’t keep track. But he didn’t know how long he stood there, their mouths moving in sync with each other, her body trapped in his arms and they stood like they were the only ones in the world. He pressed his body closer to hers, bringing a hand up to angle her head and press himself deeper to her. It wasn’t until a car drove by that they pulled away, suddenly aware of the fact that they were in a parking lot, which wasn’t the most private place to start making out with your girlfriend in. 

He rested his forehead on hers, appreciating the starry look in her eyes and the red rosiness blooming on her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Jon didn’t know whether that was from the cold, from what they did, or a combination of both. 

“You’re a sneaky thing.” He whispered to her, feeling no need to speak with a normal volume when she was this close. She giggled, bumping her nose against his.

“That’s what you get for tickling me. C’mon, let’s head back.” 

_ Oh, if that’s what he gets for tickling her, he’ll tickle her every damn second of every day. _

_____

  
  


“Mm, Jon,  _ don’t leave a mark-”  _

Dany tried to whisper, but was cut off with his lips attacking hers, a small escaping through the back of her throat, his movements against hers just as feverish as he was on her neck. 

“ _ Too late.”  _ He murmured against her before connecting his mouth to hers once more. This time, he brought his hand up to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. 

They were in her room on her bed, Dany straddling Jon’s lap. She wasn’t sure how long they’ve been in this position, enjoying the feel of each other as they’re tongues danced with the other. Dany couldn’t stop the small moans and hums coming out from her throat as she threaded her fingers through his curly, thick hair. She craned her neck to allow him even more access, which he graciously took. She scratched lightly at his scalp, grinning a little to herself when he groaned. They’d been at this for a while, and Dany was sure it was sometime in the early evening now, but she found she didn’t care enough to let him part from her. She’s glad to have him for herself as long as she could. 

He continued ruining the look of her pale neck, and if she was being honest with herself, Dany found she’d rather have him ruining her mouth instead. She grabbed both sides of his pretty face and connected their lips once more, his tongue immediately clashing,  _ sliding  _ against hers. And out of nowhere, an idea popped into her mind. A rather  _ bold  _ one. 

Her hips moved slowly at first, still unsure of what she was doing or how she was supposed to do it.  _ Circles. Back and forth. Shouldn’t be that hard Dany.  _ Slowly but surely, she got a better hold of her movements as they started to become surer. Jon gave out a small groan at her actions, which she took as a sign that she was doing something right. Her hands started from his beautiful head of hair to up and down his back, until they reached the hem of his shirt. Her hand froze for a second. What was she even doing? A wave of anxiousness washed through her. What does she even want? There should be no reason to be nervous. They were making out, plain and simple. They’d done this multiple times, it shouldn’t be that different now. 

_ But I want it to be.  _

She wanted something different this time. She wanted to let loose, forget about the rest of the world. She wanted…  _ to take them to a step even higher. The next step.  _

The realization came to her slowly, its presence warming its way through her, before settling itself in the pit of her stomach, her very core.  _ Stop thinking so hard, and just go for it.  _ With the self talk, she allowed her hand to reach for the end of his shirt, slowly pulling the material up from his back.

In almost a flash of speed, Jon ripped his mouth away from hers, eyes widened in shock. They were both panting, gasping for air. She backed away from him a little, leaving a small space between him. Dany felt like she was moving, and when she looked down at her hand, she noticed how her hand was shaking. With that, she scrambled off him, her feet steadying themselves on her bedroom floor. She looked at Jon, who was trying to shake himself out of their little daze and ran a hand through his now messy hair. 

“What-what was… what were you doing?” 

She shook her head, focusing on anything else in her room but Jon.  _ What have I done? I shouldn’t have done it.  _

“I don’t- I don’t know. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.” 

He shook his head, but said nothing. Dany closed her eyes, cursing herself and cringing. 

“Dany…”    


  
“Don’t. Just don’t. Let’s forget about it okay? I don’t know what I was doing. Spur of the moment kind of thing, I guess. Just forget it okay?” She could feel her face heating up in embarrassment, so she turned away from him, hoping that it would cool off. “What time is it? Do you have to leave soon? I don’t want to keep you-” 

“Dany.” A hand rested on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and face him. She backed up, her hip hitting her desk and she sighed. Jon stepped closer to her, a hand resting on her desk behind her. 

_ “Dany.”  _

His voice dropped to a husky whisper as he moved even closer. 

“ _ What were you doing?”  _

His lips brushed over hers barely, and she found herself releasing a shaky breath. She shook her head, needing space to breathe, or at least properly. 

“I-I told you. I don’t know. I just felt like doing it, so I did. Please, Jon, I don’t wanna talk about it. I’m sorry.”

She was taken aback when he pressed forward, claiming her with an open-mouthed kiss. He pressed his body to hers, to the point where her body was nearly squished between his and the desk behind her as he cupped the back of her head and hungrily kissed her with an almost hot passion. She returned it, pushing back with her own strength using the desk to push off of. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her tightly to him as she tried leading them back to her bed. Her hand went back to its place at the hem of his shirt, and just as his leg hit the mattress, he pulled away, his hands on her shoulders and forehead resting on hers. 

“Dany,  _ gods _ , do you know what you’re doing?” His hands went up to cup her face. 

She swallowed thickly, nodding. “I do.  _ Please,  _ Jon. I want this. I do.” 

He released her from his grip, and looked as if he was at war with something in his mind.  _ Probably is,  _ she figured. 

Jon exhaled hard, eyes fluttering close for a second. “You have to know what you’re askin’. I don’t want you to regret this.  _ I can’t  _ let you regret this.  _ Please tell me you’re serious about this.”  _

Dany mimicked his previous actions, bringing her hands to both sides of his face. “I  _ am  _ sure, Jon.” She lifted his face so that their noses were touching. “ _ I want this.  _ And I know you do too. I’m ready. I  _ want  _ my first time to be with you. Only you, Jon.  _ Please.”  _

He didn’t say anything at first, his grey eyes boring into her violet eyes. Then, with a deep breath in, he nodded. Dany smiled to herself and charged in, closing the distance between them. He kissed her back with just as much fervor as she did, their mouths almost clashing against each other’s as he turned them so that she was pinned under him on the bed. Jon worked in a hurry to get his shirt off, tossing the unnecessary cloth to the side, resuming his attack to her lips. 

Dany looked with widened eyes as he stood before her, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. He looked even more gorgeous without a shirt than with one. His light skin seemed to brighten up the metaphorical gloominess of her room. His arms showing obvious muscles, and his abs even more clearly cut with it. She snapped out of her stupor when she noticed him smirking at her. 

“S-sorry.” Dany flushed with embarrassment. Why did she have to act like such a blushing virgin so much? Despite the fact that she was, she at least wanted to be a little bit more… relaxed about it. Not like some child being offered ice cream before dinner. 

Jon shook his head, chortling. He took her hand, placing them on his bare chest. “Don’t be. You can do whatever you’d like with me, love.” He whispered lowly into her ear, the sound sending a tingle down her spine. They reconnected, and she took the opportunity to let her hands explore every inch of his torso. Every inch of him was just hard cut muscle, and Dany sent a mindless thank-you to whoever created football and working out, because it was working  _ quite  _ well in her favor. 

It occurred to her that she had spent more time admiring her beloved boyfriend’s bare chest, she forgot this was supposed to be a two way participation effort. She broke away from Jon, panting as she struggled to lift her shirt up from between them. Jon looked down to see what she was struggling with and lifted himself slightly off her to get rid of the nuisance of a cloth. As soon as it was off, he tossed it to the ground to join his shirt as well. He reached behind her for the clasp to her bra, feeling her back before finding it. He fiddled with it for a couple seconds before finally getting it loose, and tossing that to the ground too. Her hands, however, instinctively went up cover her now bare chest, her eyes flashing away from Jon’s. She saw him frown from the corner of her eye. With a hesitant hand, he gently pried away one hand from her chest, laying it next to her side before removing the other hand and laying it on the other side of her. Dany suddenly felt the chill of cold air hitting her and her body trembled. She watched as Jon looked at her with a gaze that sent more chills down her back. This time, he leaned down slowly, kissing her softly on the lips and moving to her ear. 

_ “ _ You have nothing to be ashamed of, love. You’re so gorgeous.  _ Perfect.” _

She let his deep voice soothe her fears as she nodded. Her eyes fluttered shut and she exhaled, letting them out in smaller and smaller breaths as he kissed his way down her neck. Her left hand lifted to rest on his neck, traveling to his hair. He peppered her skin with his lips, his tongue coming out to lick the hollow of her throat. Just as she did, his hands wandered, exploring her small frame before it rested to the side of her right breast, his thumb getting closer and closer to its center. Her breath hitched when his palm finally rested on the center of her breast, his movements turning into kneading. She whimpered into his mouth when his thumb began circling her nipple, the bud hardening under his ministrations. For a moment, Dany briefly thought whatever that hard thing Jon had in the pocket of his pants were that was against her leg. What she didn’t expect was that the next thing she knew, his mouth replaced his thumb. Her body twitched and she gasped, the action completely taking her off guard. The shock was quickly replaced with pleasure, and she moaned from her throat, her fingers gripping his hair a little tighter. 

“Jon.  _ Oh.”  _

She moaned out again, very much enjoying the feeling of his tongue swirling and sucking her nipple. He released it with a bud, moving quickly to give its twin the same treatment. Her hand scratched his head even harder and he groaned, sucking her a little harder before letting go. She looked down at him, expecting him to come back up to kiss her mouth. Except he didn’t. His hand began fumbling with her jeans before stopping and looking up at her. 

“May I?”    


  
Dany looked at him, breathing heavily. She nodded. He nodded with her, going back to his original task. He unbuttoned the button and slid the zipper down. Her pants took some work to shed off and she helped him, sighing in relief when the offensive denim got off her and joined the pile of clothes on the ground. Dany bore her eyes into his, nodding, to what she didn’t know. He didn’t ask for permission for anything, at least not verbally, but he didn’t need to. His eyes said it all. 

He leaned forward, pressing his lips to her thin and  _ wet  _ panties, kisses peppering up and down it. Dany bucked under him, her breathing beginning to deepen. His hand curled and hooked the lining of her panties, and slowly pulled the material down, revealing all of her to him. Dany blushed, her face gaining heat and redness as he pulled it off from her ankles. 

_ “Fuckin’ beautiful.”  _ He whispered, to her or to himself, she didn’t know. But it did cause her face to heat up even more. Dany lifted her head to look upon him once more, but then immediately dropped it back down, moaning aloud as Jon dove in to feast on her. 

“Jon!  _ Oh fuck-” _

Her back arched and lifted off the bed as he feasted upon her. She felt his tongue licking up and down and  _ gods,  _ even  _ inside of her!  _ The sounds of his slurping echoed through the room and in her ears and Dany doesn’t think she’s ever felt anything anywhere  _ near  _ as good as this. Her breaths came out short as she writhed underneath him. Then she felt his mouth latch onto her sensitive nub, sucking and swirling his tongue and it was as if a dam broke through her. Her entire body shook with her release as she cried out, trembling in his arms as he helped her ride out her orgasm, lickimg her dry only for her wetness to come back again. If her eyes could roll to the back of her head, they would. 

He pulled off of her, her grip on his hair releasing as he met her at eye level again. She opened her eyes, giving him a loopy smile. 

“You okay?” He asked. Though she could tell he was asking out of concern, she heard some amusement in his voice too.

Dany nodded animatedly, a dumb smile on her face. “More than okay. That felt _ really _ good… thank you.” She added shyly after. 

“You don’t have to thank me. I would do that all day long if I could.  _ You taste bloody amazin’ Dany.” _

Then he kissed her slowly, and sure enough, she could taste some of herself on his tongue. The thought made her blush. When he pulled away, she looked down, frowning. Here she was bare naked beneath him and he still had his offending pants on. That certainly wouldn’t do. He looked down to what she was seeing. 

“Are you sure you still want to keep going? We can stop if you want.” 

_ Stop? No, she was just getting started. They’ve gone this far, so they’ll finish it.  _

She shook her head quickly. “No. I don’t want to stop.” 

He looked at her, nodding. Quickly, he made to take his jeans off, unbuckling his belt and throwing it aside as he worked the zipper. Dany watched on as he shed the clothing off him, and it was then she noticed it. The hard object that she  _ thought  _ was in Jon’s pocket, was not actually an object, nor was it in his pocket. As his jeans were kicked off from his ankles and he grabbed something from the back of his pocket, she could see from his boxers his hard erection, and the sight had her blushing like a maiden.  _ He wants me. He really, truly does want me. You have nothing to be afraid of anymore Dany. _

Jon made work to shed his boxers off as well, leaving them as bare as the day they were born in front of each other. He grabbed the object from his back pocket, his wallet, she saw. He took out what looked like a wrapper.  _ A condom, _ Dany knew.  _ Oh thank the gods he’s prepared.  _ But another ‘thing’ took hold of her mind at the moment. Dany stared widely at his long, thick cock that jutted out between his legs, her mind suddenly racing again.  _ That’s never going fit in me. This is going to hurt so much. Oh gods what if doesn’t fit inside me and we can’t do this.  _ Jon, sensing her rising panic, crawled forward and on top of her, his hands going to the sides of her face as his thumbs rubbed sideways at her temples. 

“Don’t be scared.” He reassured her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Just tell me if you want to stop.” And with that, he moved again, spreading her legs wider beneath him. He sat up and took the small packet and tore it open, rolling the condom on himself.

Dany tried to slow her breathing and relax herself. Jon looked up at her with one last glance, and she nodded, allowing him to continue.  _ There’s always an out. There’s always an escape. Just relax Dany…  _

In one quick move, Jon surged forward, entering her channel and breaking through her barrier. She yelped and gasped at the same time, a sting shocking her senses. Her breaths turned into pants as she tried to adjust herself to the size of him  _ inside her.  _ Jon, thank the gods, understood her discomfort and stayed as still as he could, letting her adjust to him. It took her a few deep breaths before she nodded her head. He rocked inside her, allowing her cunt to stretch around his girth. Dany winced, everything about what they were doing a completely foreign concept to her still. 

Soon enough, the pain and discomfort subsided, and she was left with pleasure that began building in her core and her lower back. Jon’s thrusts inside her gradually getting deeper, but still maintaining its slow, rocking like rhythm. She peered up at him, his eyes shut close and she could see how much self control he was using to control himself and not do this wrong. Dany loved him for that, but she knew she needed him more at this moment. She tried to lift her hips up to meet him thrust for thrust, her hands going to his back to grab on to him. He was breathing deeply as he buried his nose into the crook of her neck. When he hit a particular spot inside her, she moaned aloud. 

“Jon- fuck,  _ faster.” _

It didn’t take him much encouragement, for as soon as she said the words, his hips began picking up its speed. Dany threw her head back on the pillow as his hands moved to grip her hips. He tilted her upwards to him, grabbing her leg to throw over his hip as he gained even deeper access inside her as his cock hit and filled her cunt in all the right places. 

“Fuck, Dany you feel so good.” He just about growled into her ear

Dany whimpered at his appraisal, her hands grabbing for his back, only for her nails to slide against it. There would definitely be marks on him later, and judging by how hard he was holding her hips, on her too. But she couldn’t care about it any less. All she cared about was  _ them, him.  _ The only sounds she could hear was the sound of his skin slapping against her as he thrusted. His grunts and low praises into her ear that, especially with his accent especially prominent in the moment, no doubt made her wetter for him. She could feel herself rising again, the pleasing pressure in her lower back. She could tell he was definitely feeling the same as her, as his movements lost its steady rhythm and he drove inside her with an erratic pace. Dany brought up her other leg to wrap around his waist, and her ankles locked around each other on his lower back to give him that extra push that they needed. 

“Dany- _ oh fuck. Come for me, love.”  _

His hand, she didn’t know which, snaked between them and pressed where their two bodies joined, and he began furiously rubbing her clit. The action surprised her, and her eyes widened as she jerked in his arms. He thrusting his cock harder inside her now, his thumb rubbing small circles around her nub. It all became too much for her, and with a high pitched moan, she came, writhing as he came soon after her with a loud and long groan. Her whole body trembled, shaking as she released herself. Jon gave a few more thrusts to ride out their orgasms, then flopped down next to her on the bed. Before she could move, he got up, throwing the latex material filled with his release away in her bedroom trash can, and returned to her in the bed. 

As soon as he crawled in, Dany scooted in to him, attaching herself to his side. He stretched his arm out, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder, his arm closing around her back to stroke her arm. Her left hand rested on his chest as she looked up at him to meet his eyes. Dany smiled at him, a soft one that she hoped conveyed her happiness. He returned it, the corner of his eyes crinkling slightly. 

“You alright?” He asked her, his voice laced with concern. 

“I’m great. Or, better than that.” Shyly, she looked away from his eyes, adding; “That was really good.” 

She heard him exhale a little harder. “Yeah? I thought that was really good too.”    


  
Dany met his eyes, and he grinned. She just about laughed right then. They both probably looked the same, sharing the same loopy, satisfied smiles on their faces. But she said nothing, and neither did he. 

“I love you, Dany.”   


He said, out of the blue. His eyes and his face were both serious again, but she smiled gently at his declaration. Carefully, Dany leaned up, kissing him softly on the lips and returned back down. 

“I love you, Jon.” 

With that, she tucked her head in towards his chest, pulling the blanket around them a little closer. She took hold of his other hand, his right one. She traced the inked word, ‘ _ king’ _ , on the inside of his wrist, beforing clasping their fingers together. No other words needed to be said. They could all wait tomorrow. Tonight, they’ll bask in each other’s presence, relishing the new state of their relationship. Dany’s heartbeat a little harder, and the corners of her mouth pulled up. Jon was hers, and she was his. If any of the other times weren’t enough to prove that, then tonight would be the seal of it. She loved him, and he loved her, and that was all there was to it. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> icantwritesmutwellokay,leavemealone!
> 
> well hope you guys enjoyed that. I'll eventually go back and edit some stuff that I wasn't happy with in this chapter, but let me know what you think! I'll have to be honest, updates for the next month or so will be slower than usual. no, I'm not going to be binge-watching all month. due to me being a 'performing arts' member, the March 'madness' is a real thing. As in, so.many.festivals.   
> not like the carnival festivals or whatever, but if you know what that means, then yeah, it's that time of the year. Next month's gonna be a little hectic for me as I try to balance that as well as catching up with work. so please forgive me for the lack of updates in advanced! see you guys next time :)))


	19. I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany deal with the new stage of their relationship. Dany and Missandei discuss everything between her and Jon. Trouble begins to brew between two lovers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been almost three weeks (or more? I've lost count) since I last updated, and I'm super sorry about that! But I finally return with a new chapter. Things have been super busy lately. Remember when I said March would be an extremely busy month for me? Well, not anymore! Yup, all events I had planned have been cancelled, as well as my school. Which means I'm off school for four weeks. I even had an out of state trip to Chicago with my orchestra a scheduled for the beginning of April, but that has unfortunately been cancelled as well. while I am extremely disappointed and upset that these events and activities that I have been looking forward to for so long have been cancelled, I know the health and safety of everyone is so much more important. 
> 
> I know everyone's seen and heard so many things about the virus going around. I won't comment much on it, but as a few words of advice, I just wanted to say that everyone try their best to stay safe and healthy. many things are being cancelled to slow the spread of COVID-19, so if you happen to be free from work or school, it doesn't mean its time to go party. Try your best to stay away from very large groups. we don't want to overrun hospitals with more and more people getting sick, hurt, etc. 
> 
> there's so much more I have to say, but I know many of us have already seen and heard the things that I have to say. with that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter :) kind of dialogue-heavy, so, sorry about that.

The morning light of the sun was beginning to pour more and more through her window’s curtains, hinting that a new day was starting. Jon gave a soft sigh, looking down to the still sleeping angel in his arms. He loved how the golden shine of the sun highlighted her hair, making it look even more radiant. Her eyelashes extended in a way where they left small shadows of themselves against her cheek. Her lips were slightly parted as she breathed calmly, her chest rising and falling next to his. 

She looked so peaceful and carefree. 

With the arm that she was sleeping on, he began lightly stroking her hair, allowing his thoughts to roam. 

He couldn’t forget about what they did last night.  _ Gods help him _ , he doesn’t think it will ever leave his mind. And he hopes it doesn't. He would never forget the way she felt against him, the way he fit so perfectly inside her as she gripped around him. He’ll never forget the melodic sounds she made as he worked her body to bring her the utmost pleasure. And most importantly, he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget how open she was being with him, how vulnerable she allowed herself to be with him. 

How his heart constricted with love for this girl. 

His thoughts vanished as she started stirring from her sleep, breathing in deeply. He loosened his hold on her to let her stretch out her body, but kept her close. Finally, her eyes opened, revealing the beautiful violet orbs he loved to stare into. Her eyes met his, and the corner of her lips turned up, curling into a soft smile as she gazed up at him.

“Good morning.” She said as her smile grew. He squeezed her around the waist tighter, burying his face into her hair and pressing a kiss to her head. 

“Good morning indeed.” Jon craned his head, meeting her lips halfway. When they parted, she snuggled closer to him. “How are you feelin’?”    


  
Dany shrugged. “Different. Happy,” and, with a cheeky smile, she added: “Even better when you were inside me.” 

Jon snorted, raising a brow at her. “Oh yeah?”    


  
She bit her lip, rising up close to his face. “Oh yeah.” 

She leaned in to claim his lips, but he leaned back, needing to ask his question.    


  
“No regrets?” His voice was serious, and so was his face. Instead of using words, Dany leaned in, pressing her lips over his, her tongue lightly tracing the entrance to his mouth then pulled away. Her hand came up to stroke and caress his cheek. 

“No regrets. I promise.” 

Jon exhaled a breath he didn’t he was holding. He just needed the verbal confirmation that she was okay with what they did, and what they were now. He grinned, pecking her lips shortly, less they never stop. Dany’s head laid on his chest, resting contentedly, until her head shot up.

“Oh my gods I just realized; aren’t your parents going to be worried about you? You were gone all night.” She sat up, pulling the blanket up and over her chest as she groaned into her hands. “I’m so sorry Jon. I should’ve thought about this.” She attempted to climb over him, reaching for her clothes on the ground, which gave him a  _ delightful  _ view of her round ass as she bent over. Jon smiled to himself. She started pulling her clothes over herself, and he thought he might as well get up and do the same. 

“You don’t have to worry. They’ll be fine. Not the first time I’ve been gone overnight.” 

Jon immediately regretted his words when he saw Dany freeze in her actions and her body grow rigid. 

“Not-not like that. That wasn’t what I meant. I don’t- I swear I don’t-  _ shit. _ ”

He picked up his pants, buckling them around his waist as he looked for his shirt. Jon cringed deeply. Why, why ,  _ why _ did he have to open his stupid mouth? Things were going so well, and he just had to open his mouth and say something ridiculous. What kind of boyfriend reminds his girlfriend of his terrible reputation? Not a good one, that was for sure. 

She didn’t say anything, fixing her shirt on before making her way to her door. Jon stepped in her way, blocking her from the door. She didn’t meet his eyes, keeping her own trained at the door in front of her. 

“Dany, that’s not what I meant and you know it.” 

“I know, Jon. I know what you’re talking about. It’s okay, I swear.” 

He really was a fuck up. 

He didn’t step aside right away, instead bringing her closer and placing his forehead over hers s that their noses were touching. 

“I know this is probably the worst time to talk about this, but I just felt you need to know. Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t slept around the whole school. Just… just Val and Ygritte. But that was it. You’re the only one for me, you know that right?” 

That seemed to cheer her up more, her teeth showing as her lips pulled back into a small smile. He leaned in, kissing her with as much reassurance as he could give. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too Jon. I also really need to brush my hair out.” 

Jon chuckled, stepping back and raising his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. I know where I'm not needed.” 

Dany giggled, making her way past him to open the door, a short squeal escaping her when he gave a swat to her behind. 

_____ 

Dany walked into the bathroom, waking herself up with a good face wash and a brush through her hair. She noted some red marks on her neck, and she blushed, remembering how they got there and  _ who  _ put them in there. She didn’t bother trying to hide them, choosing to keep them as they were. 

Once she finished her routine in the bathroom, she walked out to the kitchen to grab them something to eat. On her way there, she stopped, freezing in her tracks as she saw someone sitting at the table. 

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Tyrion greeted her, raising a glass of wine to her. 

“How long have you been up?”    


  
He made a show of thinking about her question. “Not too terribly long.” 

She nodded, looking at him weirdly as she walked to the fridge when a thought struck her. 

_ Oh my gods, please tell me he didn’t hear us last night. Please please please.  _

“I assume your boyfriend is also awake.”    


  
_ Well shit, he knows.  _

“Yeah. Yeah, he’s up.” 

And they also didn’t seem to have any breakfast. She continued rifling through the fridge and the freezer to see if they had anything.

“Did you eat all the frozen waffles?” She turned around to face Tyrion. 

“Well, I must admit, I grew hungry. Waffles seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, I’m not so sure.” 

Dany groaned, banging her head lightly on the refrigerator door. Well, they’ll probably just have to go out for some food then. Right at that moment, Jon came out of her bedroom, running a hand through his messy hair and adjusting his shirt. Tyrion looked at him, and then her amusedly. 

“I trust you both had an enjoyable time last night.” 

Jon’s eyes widened, shaking his head quickly. “What? Why would you say that? No, of course not. We- we didn’t- we didn’t do anything. It would’ve been too late for me to go home, so I stayed here for the night.”    


  
Tyrion nodded, taking a sip of his wine. “You are aware I also live here? And that these apartment walls aren’t so thick as you believe them to be? But no matter, it isn’t my business. I only trust that you were a gentleman about it, Jon Stark.” 

Jon sobered and nodded seriously, then joined her in her spot in the kitchen. Tyrion hopped off the chair, leaving his empty glass of wine in the sink. 

“You’re always welcome here Jon Stark. Just, next time, try and keep it down, alright? Some of us actually value our sleep.” And with that, the dwarf man walked away to his bedroom, leaving them alone. 

Jon turned, almost comically to Dany, who bit her lip, trying to keep from laughing. She failed, bursting into laughter with Jon joining her with his chuckles. He came up behind her, nuzzling his face into her neck. 

“By the way, we don’t have any breakfast here. Sorry ‘bout that.”    


  
“No worries, we can go grab some.” 

_____

At school, they continued as they were before, as their usual selves. Jon would walk Dany to all her classes (no matter how many times she asked him to just go straight to his class instead, the boy never seemed to listen). They’d go out for lunch every once and a while, getting away from their peers for a bit. They’d go to each other’s house a few days every week, definitely  _ not  _ making out behind closed doors and most  _ definitely not  _ letting roaming hands wander and pleasure (amongst other things). 

Two weeks later, someone was bound to notice something. 

Jon rounded the corner, leading Dany to her next class, with Missy on her other side since they shared the same class. 

“You gonna be okay here?” 

Dany gave him a look. “I’ll be fine. I’ll catch up with you next period.” 

Jon nodded, then quickly glanced over to Missy, who pretended to not listen in to their interaction. Looking back at her, he leaned down, meeting her for a short but sweet kiss, then headed off to his own class. Dany was about to walk into the room, when Missy stopped her. She stared Dany into the eyes for a few seconds, that seemed to last longer than it did. 

“What?”   


  
“You’re hiding something.” Missy narrowed her eyes. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Oh please, you know what I’m talking about. I can practically  _ feel  _ the ‘weird’ energy coming from you and Jon. Something’s up with you two and I feel like you’re keeping a secret.”

Dany scoffed at her best friend’s assumption. “Nothing’s ‘going on with us’. We’re fine.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” 

Dany stood, confused at whatever Missy was trying to insinuate. Suddenly, she realized something. But did she really want to disclose that information to her? She and Jon haven’t actually sat down and talked about it quite yet, but she felt as if it were a given to keep it quiet. Maybe he won’t be upset with her if she only told Missandei. 

“Well, there is something.” Dany trailed off. 

“Aha! I knew it! What is it?”    


  
Dany suppressed a chuckle at her. 

“You can’t tell anyone though. I’m not really sure if Jon is okay with me saying anything about it to anyone. It’s probably not even that big of a deal, so I don’t know.” 

“Psh, who would I even tell? Grey? I won’t say anything Dany, trust me.” 

Dany nodded, then with a deep breath in, she confessed. 

“Jon and I decided to take our relationship ‘to the next step’”. 

Missy looked confused as she listened on. 

“What’s that supposed to mean exactly? The next step? What, like having sex or something?” Missy meant the question as a joke, but when Dany didn’t say anything, her eyes widened. 

“Oh my gods.  _ Oh my gods.  _ Dany, are you serious? You’re being serious right? Did you and Jon actually have sex?!”    


  
“Not so loud Missy!” Dany lightly scolded her friend, a shade of red beginning to color her cheeks. She didn’t really want anyone knowing, Missy being exempted. 

“But did you?” This time, she lowered her voice to a whisper. 

“Yes. A couple weeks ago.” 

Missandei’s eyes widened twice the size they were, her jaw dropping in shock. Then within a second, her face split into a wide smile as she giddily bounced up and down in front of her. She threw her arms around Dany, throwing the latter off guard but returning the embrace nonetheless. 

“Dany, oh, I’m so happy for you! That’s such a big step to take! Oh gods, now you  _ have  _ to tell me all about it! How was it? Was it good? Oh my gods I’m dying to know.” 

Dany rolled her eyes, but broke into a small laugh at her friend’s curiosity. “I’m not telling you  _ everything,  _ Missy.”   


  
“Okay then. Just tell me how was it? Who started it? Was he any good?” Missy’s eyes were wide with excitement, and Dany couldn’t help but feel a rush of the same emotion through her. 

“It was… good.” She started. 

“Good? That’s all you have to say? Surely a guy as hot as Jon would be more than just ‘good’.” Missy pretended to be disappointed. 

Dany gaped at her friend, faking offense. “Missandei! You have a boyfriend!”    


  
“That doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes. Don’t worry Dany. Besides, I’m way more into Grey.”   
  


Dany rolled her eyes, but continued. “Anyways, we were kind of, sort of just making out on my bed and I just felt the urge to take things further, or all the way, but I don’t know where it came from. I just knew that in that moment, I wanted him more than anything else. He was reluctant at first, kept asking me if I was sure. I was, so eventually he gave in.” 

Dany looked on to missy, but when she didn’t say anything, she continued on. 

“He was really.. _ good _ about everything, I guess you could say. Super gentle and everything. And he did  _ things that _ were, well…” Dany paused, a blush taking over her face. “It was really good. It felt right. And I think it made our relationship better.” 

When she finished, Missy looked as if she was about to melt with- with  _ cuteness? _ Her friend slapped a hand over her own chest. 

“That is the _ sweetest  _ thing ever! Dany I’m so happy for the both of you. KInd of hurt that you didn’t tell me this sooner, but I get it. As long as you’re both happy, which you both look very. That explains why Jon seems more clingy around you.” 

Dany furrowed her brows and scrunched her nose. “Clingy?”   


  
“Sorry, wrong choice of words. But  there’s been something going on with you two, especially with the way he’s been around you that was different. Now that I know what happened, I understand why. Just, one more thing; are you sure you won’t be regretting this later on? Don’t take it the wrong way, I just want to be sure that you’re, you know,  _ sure _ .” 

Dany’s answer came almost immediately. “Of course I’m sure. He asked me the same thing. I told him there was no one I’d rather have my first time with than him. I truly trust him Missy. I knew then and I know now that he would never take advantage of me like that.”   
  


Missy slowly nodded, understanding her point. “Okay. As long as you’re sure, then okay. Anyways, I’ll stop being nosy now, let you keep all the  _ juicy _ information to yourself. Bell’s gonna ring any minute now, we should head inside.”    
  


And with that, they walked in, the conversation disappearing from their minds and to the subject of their current class. 

_____ 

“Dany! Oh, gods,  _ fuck yes!” _

Dany threw her head back, her eyes squeezing shut from the pleasure coursing through her body as Jon’s grip around her hips helped slam her down, his hard length filling her each time. He took the opportunity to attack her throat, leaving it redder than it already was. She let out a small whine as he bent his head down to swipe his tongue over an exposed, reddened nipple, before latching his mouth back on hers again. 

The familiar, but so intense feeling of heat began uncoiling in her stomach, and soon, she was riding Jon as hard and fast as she could to chase her release, his bruising grip on her helping greatly. 

“ _ Oh, Jon!”  _

She heard herself cry out as her orgasm reached her, Jon’s following seconds after her. She dropped her sweaty forehead to rest on his own, just as sweaty as her’s as they panted and tried to catch their breaths. 

“That was hot as hell.”    


  
Dany snorted into the crook of Jon’s shoulder at his remark. She fully agreed with that statement. 

“Yes it was.” She whispered against his mouth, then pulled away as he tried to chase after her lips. She made to move off his lap, returning her own seat in the car and trying to fix her clothes and overall appearance, with Jon doing the same. 

They, or more like Jon, managed to park themselves into a discrete alleyway where not many people came upon, just before attacking each other. It all started after they had lunch and got inside Jon’s car. Dany, feeling particularly just a  _ tiny  _ bit bad, dropped her hand on Jon’s thigh, caressing it softly as it slowly inched its way higher and higher up. For his part, Jon managed to keep a (mostly) straight face, up until Dany had dropped her voice into a dangerous whisper. 

_ “I want you, Jon.”  _

After that, Dany feared just a little bit that he would get a ticket for how fast he drove, trying to find the nearest place he could park his car in without getting caught. It brought them to this moment right here. 

“If we’re late, this is all your fault.” 

Dany snorted again, rolling her eyes. “Right. It was  _ my  _ fault.” She fixed the collar area of her blouse, tucking her bra in and making sure nothing looked too out of place.

Jon threw her an amused look. “You’re the one that started it.” 

“You’re the one that gave into it.” She retored back. 

“You expect me to ignore the most beautiful girl in the world’s proposition to have sex? Yeah right.” 

Dany opened her mouth to say something, but closed it instead, her cheeks blushing at his compliment. 

“I hate when you do that.” No she didn’t. 

“No you don’t. But I love when you always blush whenever I compliment you. Cutest thing ever, I’m telling you.” He peered into the rear view mirror, checking his hair. Dany threw her jacket at him for his words. He gave her a dangerous look. 

“I am  _ going  _ to tickle you for that.” 

Dany’s eyes widened as she backed away from Jon. “No you are not. You’re going to drive us back to school sir. I can’t miss the next class.”   


  
“Oh, it’s sir now? I see.”    


  
“Don’t let it get to your head.”    


  
Jon cheekily smiled at her, finally turning the engine on and starting the car. 

“Hm, I think I will.” 

_____ 

Later that evening found Jon and Dany cuddling on her bed (all clothes fully on). She traced lazy circles and lines up and down his abdomen. They had managed to finish their homework, and were more than happy to just sit in silence with one another. 

“What’s on your mind?” He whispered, his voice deep and slightly raspy. He could feel the cogs turning at high speed in her head. 

“The future.” She didn’t stop her languid movements. 

“Hm.. what about it?” 

  
  
She heaved a deep sigh, then pulled away from him to sit up, prompting him to do the same. 

“College, more specifically. We haven’t talked about it at all. We’re in our second semester of our final year of high school. Before we know it, we’ll be in college.” 

He listened intently to her explanation, trying his best to follow along. Jon had a good feeling he knew where she was going with this. 

“What about us? What’s going to happen to us, Jon? You’re going to stay in Winterfell for college to study under your dad, and-and I’m going to- I don’t know! We’re going to have to break up, aren’t we? We’re not going to last through college, Jon, rarely any high school couple does! But I don’t know if I can get through that. I can’t-I can’t lose you Jon. What are we supposed to do?” She sniffled.    


  
“Hey, hey, Dany, look at me,” he laced his fingers through hers, trying to get her eyes to look up at his. “Nobody said anything about leaving or breaking up, okay? That’s not going to happen.”    


  
“You don’t know that-”    


  
“No, I don’t. But I know I’m willing to fight for what we have. I’m willing to fight whatever comes our way to keep you as mine, do you understand? College will be tough, but I’m not letting it take what we have.” He tried to convince her to listen to his reasoning, to keep her worries away. 

“But we’ll be in different places. You’ll be here, and I sent an application a while back to Dragonstone University. They’re sending acceptance letters over the next few weeks. Jon, if I get in-” 

“You  _ will _ get in.”    


  
“Then we’ll be split apart. What’s going to happen to us?”

Jon absolutely hated to admit it, but she brought up a good point. His heart trembled with the possible outcomes of this situation. Looking at Dany’s teary eyes only chipped away at his heart even more.  _ Dragonstone University. _ Over a thousand miles away from Winterfell. He didn’t want to succumb to the slow panic that was beginning to seep through him. The last thing he wanted was for Dany to full blown panic and worry, and he couldn’t distract her from her studies like that. They could do long distance, couldn’t they? Skype each other as often as they could, and maybe once or twice a month, visit each other. They could make that work, couldn’t they? He understood her panic though. The thought of having to be so far away from Dany physically hurt him inside. 

He breathed out a deep sigh, squeezing gently her hands in his. 

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it until just now. So I don’t know.” He found no point in lying to her. Back in the darker depths of his mind, something whispered to him that he’s lied enough to her already. “But I do know at least one thing about this; I’m not letting this break us. We’ll find a way. Besides, it’s still far off. We have plenty of time to think of this. Dany, _ nothing _ is going to stop me from being happy with you. I’ll do whatever it takes.”   


  
He could tell her mind was still working at high speed, but his words seemed to at least calm her down some. That was all he needed. 

_ Some more time. That’s all I need, just a little bit more time. _

He loved her way too much to let go of her. He’ll keep her his as long as she’ll let him. 

_____ 

The conversation and subject all together was forgotten, though whether it was because it was forgotten or ignored, she didn’t know. Maybe a little bit of both.  _ It was a few weeks ago, best forget about it Daenerys.  _ Things were fine between her and Jon, there was no reason to mess it up.

The bell had just rang, school ending for the day. There were still a few students staying in the hallway though. Some waiting for their friends, others getting their items, or simply just staying after school to chat. Jon had told her he’ll meet her up in the parking lot, before splitting ways. Dany made her way to her locker, grabbing whatever she needed from inside and leaving whatever she didn’t. However, as soon as she shut her locker closed, someone was waiting for her. 

“Theon?”   


  
“So you remember me. I’m flattered.” He gave a weird smile that only had Dany cringing. Last she heard of him, he had broken his nose. It looked much better than it did the last time, but something about his face seemed off. Dany couldn’t help the slight swell of pride that her boyfriend had done that to his own friend, just to defend her honor. But it quickly turned into guilt the more she thought about it. 

“Can I help you with something?” She decided to play nice with him for now, until she found a reason not to. 

Theon turned, resting his back on the lockers next to her, his left leg making a triangle pointing outwards as he leaned it against the locker as well. “There is something. But it doesn’t involve you actively doing anything. I just need you to listen.  _ Very  _ closely.” 

Dany gave him a confused look, but made no objection. She didn’t sense any harm in listening to what he had to say. 

“O-kay.” She said, skeptically. 

Theon nodded, then stood up straight and faced her. “Has Jon mentioned anything to you recently?”   


  
“Uh, no?” She pinched her brows together, unsure of what he was referring to. “Why, should he have?” 

Instead of answering her question, he only replied with “Interesting. Very interesting.” 

“I’m sorry, will you please just tell me what you came here to tell me? Jon’s waiting for me in the parking lot, and I really don’t want to keep him waiting.” She tried to hurry him along. 

“Oh, he’s waiting for you? Now this just makes everything even better.” 

Dany crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him irritatedly.

“How’s your relationship going right now?”   


  
“Look, Theon, I’m really not interested in playing games-”   


  
“I’m not playing games. Just tell me, how are things between you two?”

She was growing more and more annoyed with him with each word that came out of his mouth. Suddenly Dany understood why Jon didn’t want to associate with him anymore. 

“Things are going great between us.” She answered, curtly.

“That’s good to hear. However, I’m afraid it won’t stay that way… There’s something you need to know, Daenerys. Something extremely important.” 

Dany shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “And what’s that?”

“Jon hasn’t been entirely truthful, ever since the start of your relationship.”

This whole time, with each sentence he spoke, he stepped a step closer to Dany, prompting her to backup and back away from him. Her heart was beginning to thump wildly against her chest, both from the panic she was feeling as Theon tried to corner her, and what his words were insinuating. But should she trust what he was saying? Jon once told her Theon wasn’t someone she should trust, but now, this all seemed like some weird paradox to her. Jon saying she shouldn’t trust Theon, but Theon saying Jon has been lying to her.  _ No, stop that, _ she scolded herself. She trusts Jon over anyone else, which means she can’t believe whatever Theon has to say. 

“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I don’t want to hear it. I’m not letting my relationship get ruined because you were bored and decided to spin some lies on someone.” Dany shrugged her backup on, but Theon continued following her. 

“Lies? None of what I have to say are lies. Will you please allow me to talk at least?”    


  
She spun around, accidently whipping him in the face with her hair. She smiled smugly to herself. “And why should I listen to whatever you have to say?”

“Because I know things that you don’t. Before you and Jon started dating, he and I were best friends-”   


  
“Oh, so you’ve come to blame me for ruining your friendship. I hate to tell you Theon, but I’m really not sorry for that.” She sneered at him. He was really beginning to annoy her. 

“Oh I haven’t come to complain. Only explain. As his best friend before, I knew many things about him. Have you noticed a weird behavior in Jon? Specifically, whenever something specific is brought up?”   


  
Dany stared at him blankly. If she were to open her mouth right now, it would only be two words, and not very nice ones. 

He continued. “How about this; that fight we had after school. I’m sure you remember that. Did he seem weird to you? I have a feeling you asked him why we fought. What did he say to you?”    


  
She hesitated for a moment, but answered him, if only to get rid of him. “He told me you said some rude things about me, which was why you two fought.” 

Dany flinched when Theon broke into a maniacal smile and started laughing. She was extremely freaked out right now. She secretly hoped Jon would wonder why she was taking so long and come save her from his weird ex-friend. After his laughter died down, he spoke again.

“You know, that’s really funny actually. Of course Mr. Popular made himself the good guy. Except, here’s the thing; that’s not at all how things went.”   


  
“What’re you talking about?”

  
  
“Did Jon ever say anything about a bet to you?” 

_ A bet? Why would he say anything about a bet? Doesn’t he hate that word? _

Just as she was about to answer, she heard someone shout out her name. Behind her, Jon half jogged, half walked to her. His eyes remained on her, his hand coming to rest on her lower back. She felt herself exhale in relief to see him come. 

  
“Jon?”   


  
“Hey, I was wondering what was taking you a bit, and you weren’t answering your phone.”    


  
She warily turned to face Theon, who had an odd look in his eyes as he watched her interaction with Jon. It was an odd look she decided she  _ hated. _ Jon followed her trail of vision, and once he realized who she was talking to, his entire face dropped, and she could almost see the mask he immediately put on. 

“What are you doing here?” His voice was dangerously low as he questioned Theon, who split into a wide, fake pleasing smile. 

“Just explaining some things to your girlfriend over here.” He gestured over to her. 

Jon’s hand that rested on her back snaked around her waist, and he squeezed her to him tighter. 

“Well, we have to get going. Let’s go Dany.” He turned them around to walk away.   


  
Except she didn’t move with him. 

He turned back to face her, confusion written over his features.    


  
“Dany? C’mon love, we gotta go.” 

“No.” He looked surprised, and she too felt the same at the tone of her voice. “I want to hear what he has to say.” 

Jon’s eyes flickered between her and Theon, his head slowly shaking.

“No you don’t. Trust me on that. He’s just wasting your time. Let’s go.” He tried to lead her away from Theon with her arm, but she wrenched it away from him. Maybe it was just the words that Theon said to her, but she felt a weird shift of energy around Jon’s reaction. Was he really hiding something?    


  
Dany spun around, turning her back to Jon and facing Theon again. “Say what you have to say.” She demanded from him. 

“Oh, I’d love to. I really do. But now that Jon’s here, I think it’s better he tells you the truth.”

Dany turned again to Jon, but this time, he shook his head fervently. 

“No. We’re going. Now.” He tried to take her arm again, but she stepped away from him. 

“No, Jon. Tell me. What truth is he talking about?” Dany was beyond confused and irritated now. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach that Jon really was hiding something from her. 

“Yes, Jon. Tell her, what truth are you hiding? Why did we  _ really  _ fight that one day? Tell her why you started dating in the first place.” She heard Theon coax him from behind her.

In front of her, Jon stood, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists. His eyes were desperately searching hers, begging her to drop it and leave. But she shook her head. She couldn’t let this drop, not when she knew herself that Jon was lying about something. 

“Don’t do this Dany.” He whispered. 

“Tell me the truth.” It took everything within her to keep her voice from shaking, trying her best to remain cold and indifferent. She didn’t even know what it was yet, but she could already tell it wasn’t going to be good. She didn’t even realize it, but her hands were beginning to tremble, as was her body. 

“I love you.”    


  
“Stop lying to me! Tell me the truth!” Dany snapped and found herself yelling at him, causing him to flinch. A wave of guilt washed over her. She suddenly wished they could just leave, and they both remained unhurt. But it was far too late to regret things now. They had already gotten the attention of some of the students staying late, murmurs beginning to arise. Dany looked at him, begging him with her teary eyes to just say the truth. What had happened to being open with each other? Had he lied about that too?  _ Just tell me Jon, please, just tell me. _

Jon’s own eyes began to fill with tears, his vision starting to blur. He wanted nothing more than to take her home and forget this interaction ever happened. He wanted her to forget this ever happened.  _ Not right now, please not right now.  _ He didn’t want to tell her the truth. No, he selfishly wanted to keep her his. He selfishly wanted to keep her in the dark, just so he could be happy and not have to deal with the repercussions. Jon wanted to get down on his knees right now, and beg her to forget about this. But it would be stupid of him. 

There was no way out of this. 

She deserved the truth, more than anything. Even if it meant he’ll lose her forever. 

  
  
  
  
  


  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh-
> 
> ok-
> 
> so in fairness, I think jonerys has had many many happy and fluffy moments already. so I kind of, sort of, maybe thought it was finally time to drop the bomb. 
> 
> or is it really? ;)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. let me know what you thought of it, and I will catch up with y'all in the next chapter. sorry for any mistakes and the long wait.
> 
> stay safe and healthy please!


	20. I found you and I lost you, looking back is torture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is finally revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this has been a long awaited chapter, but 20 chapters and updates later, we've finally arrived. 
> 
> I won't say much and just let you guys read. I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> this chapter is pretty much unedited, so sorry for that.

_ “Don’t do this Dany.” _

_ “Tell me the truth.” _

_ “I love you.” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Stop lying to me! Tell me the truth!” _

Dany’s heart beat erratically in her chest, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall any second should she blink hard enough. He was hiding something from her, and it already cut her deeply that he would keep a secret from her, despite their numerous talks to never hide a secret from each other, to trust the other. She was growing more and more anxious and impatient, the longer Jon stood silent. 

“Do it Snow! Tell her, or I will.”    


  
Behind her, Theon’s voice boomed threateningly. She winced, a part of her wanting to turn around and yell at him for talking to Jon in such a way. But she didn’t. The longer Jon took to answer, the more tempted she was to do the same. She could see from where she was standing that he was at war with himself

“It was a stupid bet.” 

His voice was quiet and shaky that she almost had to strain to hear what he said. She let him continue. 

“At the beginning of the year, we wanted to do a senior year prank. Theon suggested we do something simple, but I said it wasn’t good enough for me. He saw you, and that’s when he suggested a bet.”

_ Senior year prank.  _

_ A prank. _

He didn’t say anything after that, his eyes wide as he tried to keep his hands from trembling so hard. He took a step forward. 

“Dany.”

She took a step back of her own. “Continue.”

He swallowed hard, a tear finally escaping from his eye, trailing down on one cheek. 

“If you told me you loved me first, I’d get $200. If I said it first, I would pay him double.” 

Any noise that happened to be made turned into white noise in her ears, buzzing and ringing simultaneously as she just about stumbled backwards, nearly knocking into Theon who looked at Jon with a smug grin. She involuntarily looked back to him, and if her own heart weren’t breaking at the moment, it would have broken for him. Maybe in a different situation, she’d have run to him, trying her best to comfort him. But looking at him now, several tears escaping from his eyes as they pleaded and begged for her, she couldn’t help but feel the opposite for him. 

_ Anger, hurt, betrayal _

Everything that they had done together, every moment they spent together. All those times that she thought had cemented their relationship.

She remembers when he found her in the bathroom at that one, dreadful party. How he helped her through an attack, and how she trusted him enough to tell him about her family. 

_ “Dany, it’s Jon. It’s just me. Come back to me, please. I need you to come back to me.”  _

_ “Jon.” She croaked out. _

_ “It’s me Dany. You’re okay, no one’s gonna hurt you anymore. But I need you to breathe with me, do you understand? Just follow me until it’s exactly like mine.”  _

She remembered him as he comforted her after her Uncle had died,

_ She felt herself being pulled, and her thoughts came back to the present, where Jon had tucked her head under his chin. _

_ “I wish I knew what to say to help you and make this all better.” _

_ Maybe the gods sent one light to help her get through this darkness. _

_ “You being here is enough.”  _

_ “Then I’ll be here. I’m not leaving.” _

Dany remembers spending Christmas with his family, how he’d given her such priceless gifts, how they’d even gotten matching tattoos.

_ He had pulled away from her at one point though, getting up to get two small box shaped gifts before returning back to his spot next to her. She looked at them curiously, but felt herself frown when he thrust the boxes to her.  _

_ “They’re for you.”  _

_ “You got me something?”  _ _  
_ _  
_ _ “Two somethings actually. Go ahead. Open it.”  _

_ The entire Stark family was watching her, and she nervously opened the first box. Her heart swelled with so much love to unwrap the gift and see a beautiful dragon pendant necklace inside the necklace box. Dany couldn’t contain the smile on her face as he helped her put it on.  _

_ “I saw it and I thought it’d be a pretty fitting gift for you. It looks beautiful on you.”  _

_ She desperately wanted not to blush so hard at that. Dany wasn’t sure how his siblings and parents would take to watching their son and brother be so cheesy and gushy in front of them. Luckily though, they didn’t seem to care all that much. However, there was still a second smaller box to be opened. She unwrapped the wrapping paper to see it looked like a small music box. Dany looked at Jon, her appreciation written all over her face.  _

_ “Open it.”  _

_ So she did. What she saw inside was not what she expected, causing her heart to skip a beat then beat harder, faster.  _

_ Two rings.  _

_ Dany looked at them, her eyebrows pushed together so hard. What was this supposed to mean? Jon took one of the rings from the box, the simple silver, criss crossed interlocking one. He slid it to his ring finger on his left hand. _

_ “Put it on.”  _

_ She picked up the ring from its holder, setting the small box aside. She inspected the piece of jewelry first. It was a beautiful silver ring that had a similar interlocking pattern as Jon’s with a simple diamond in the middle of it. On the inside of the ring were the engraved words:  _

_ My Queen.  _

_ Dany was near tears as she studied the ring, looking up at Jon and unsure of what this gift was.  _

_ “They’re promise rings.”  _

And,  _ gods,  _ when she had given herself to him, her virginity, her body, her love,  _ everything. _

_ “Dany, gods, do you know what you’re doing?” His hands went up to cup her face.  _

_ She swallowed thickly, nodding. “I do. Please, Jon. I want this. I do.”  _

_ He released her from his grip, and looked as if he was at war with something in his mind. Probably is, she figured.  _

_ Jon exhaled hard, eyes fluttering close for a second. “You have to know what you’re askin’. I don’t want you to regret this. I can’t let you regret this. Please tell me you’re serious about this.”  _

_ Dany mimicked his previous actions, bringing her hands to both sides of his face. “I am sure, Jon.” She lifted his face so that their noses were touching. “I want this. And I know you do too. I’m ready. I want my first time to be with you. Only you, Jon. Please.”  _

Her eyes were stinging from the tears that seemed to burn through her eyes. 

_ Promise rings meant love and commitment. The tattoos represented the connection they had with each other. Giving her body to him meant she trusted him with her whole being.  _

How could he possibly do this to her? 

“Dany-” he started, reaching for her hand. 

She pulled it away from him, acting as if he had touched her and burned her with it. Her lips quivered, tears escaping from their cages as she let everything sink in. 

“You lied to me. You were lying all along.”   


  
“Maybe at first. At the very start,” he replied almost immediately. “But Dany after we grew closer, I started falling for you and I forgot all about it. I only wanted to be with you from that point on. That’s what the fight with Theon was about. He demanded me to give him the money but I refused and-”   


  
“And he threatened to tell me the truth, which was why you were so angry.” She stated. He finally seemed at a loss for words. She shook her head bitterly. 

“I trusted you,” she pointed her finger towards his chest. “I trusted you like I trusted no one else, I let you in and I told you  _ everything about myself _ , I fell for you, and I loved you! And  _ this? This _ is what you do to me? You lie to me? Was that all I was worth to you, Jon? A couple hundred dollars and an inflated ego? Was that all we had?”   


  
More and more tears were sliding down her cheeks with every word she spoke, but she dare not break down yet, not in front of  _ him,  _ and anyone else watching. She wiped away at her eyes and began walking, determined to leave and get the hell out of this school and just be away from his presence. However, he stopped her by taking her arm. 

“Dany, please,  _ don’t do this. _ We can work this out-”   


  
“ _ I’m done with you Jon.”  _

She just about seethed at him, ripping her arm away from him and running. 

  
  
  


It wasn’t until she got in her apartment and slammed her bedroom door shut, did she break down, sobbing and weeping, the tears a never ending flow as she realized what she’s lost.

_ My best friend, my confidant, my supposed one and only true love.  _

She had given him everything she had, and she took in and believed every word he had told her, absorbing into her own soul. Was there truly something so wrong with her? So wrong, that it made it impossible for someone to want to truly be with her, to truly love her without looking to gain something in return? Had she not loved him enough? She loved him with every fibre of her being, so much that sometimes it hurt. She even thought, foolishly, that he would be  _ the one _ for her. The one who would stick by her side and never leave again. 

And to think he only noticed her because of a  _ fucking bet.  _

Dany clutched onto her pillow, squeezing it so tightly it felt as if it were going to mold into her own body. The tears wouldn’t stop, and by now, her entire body trembled. 

The amount of times she has felt so insecure about herself because she was with him. The amount of times she had compared herself to other girls. So many times had she convinced herself that she didn’t deserve such a guy like Jon, who everybody loved being around. 

And every time he had told her the opposite. 

He always told her she was more than enough, that it was  _ he  _ who was not worthy of her. She loved how happy he had made her feel. She loved his playful teasing, his affection for her, the ‘love’ that she had felt from him. It all felt so true. He had made her more confident and secure of herself, happier and lighter. 

Their entire relationship was built on a lie. 

_ I should’ve known, _ Dany thought bitterly. She should have known that the most popular guy in the entire school didn’t just randomly wake up one day wanting to be friends with the nerdiest, least popular girl. She should have known how suspicious his actions were. But she didn’t. Perhaps besides Missandei, for once in her life, Dany felt a sense of happiness that someone actually wanted to be her friend, especially someone like him. But now as she looked back, the signs were there all along. His reluctance, his secretiveness, his hesitancy. How he hated the word ‘bet’, or how uncomfortable he felt when she confronted him about his fight. No amount of studying and good grades will ever change her mind about how fucking stupid she is. 

And in the end, no matter how much she wants to hate Jon for hurting and lying to her, she can’t. Because he’s the one that helped pull her out of some of her most darkest moments in her life. She hates herself so much for still loving him. She should have known that no one could ever truly love her in that way, no matter how hard she tried. It was her fault that for once, she thought she could be happy because she deserved to be, no matter how many times the gods try to take someone dear to her. She was Daenerys Targaryen after all, someone unfashioned for love and happiness, undeserving and unworthy of it. 

Dany wants to let herself be consumed by the darkness that seems to try  _ so  _ hard to take everything from her. 

_ Mother, Father, Rhaegar, Viserys, Uncle Aemon, and now Jon. _

She doesn’t remember crying this hard since her Uncle had passed away, and even then that had been different.  _ Jon  _ was there, comforting her. 

_ Who are you supposed to turn to when the only one that can stop you from crying is exactly the one making you cry?  _

  
  


_____

For the tenth, _or was it the eleventh,_ he’d lost count, time that night, Jon drove his fist into his bedroom wall again, before finally collapsing on his floor, a puddle of tears, sweat, and a little bit of blood mixed in. He rubbed his hands all over his face, trying to stop the tears from coming, but alas, they were a force that couldn’t be stopped. He wept into his knees that were tucked into his chest. He’d tried everything. He yelled, screamed, hit something, cried, even bit his own fist to stop the _horrible_ pain in his heart but nothing seemed to be working. The only thing that could stop it was _her,_ and he’d lost _her_ forever. 

His love, his happiness, his light, his  _ Dany. _ The girl that had him happier than he ever thought possible was gone,  _ all because of him.  _

A loud knock sounded at his door, followed by the door opening. 

“Hey, what the hell is going on in here? Mom’s wondering if you’re doing some sort of renovation on your own or something.” Robb came in, looking around his room as if Jon really  _ was  _ doing what his mom wondered. However, Jon didn’t spare him a look, instead, keeping his eyes glued to the ground.

“You okay there?” Robb asked him apprehensively. With only some slight hesitation, he walked over and slid down the wall next to Jon. “You look like a right mess. What happened?”

Jon opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t trust his voice to not break down, so he closed it and shook his head instead, ashamedly. 

“O-kay, I’m going to assume something really bad happened. You up to telling me what it is, little bro?”

His brother knew he absolutely  _ hated _ when he called him that, which was probably why he used it on him, trying to get a reaction out of him. Had this been any other time, Jon would have retorted back to him, telling Robb not to call him that. But it wasn’t any other time, so he kept shut. 

“Now I know there’s something seriously wrong. Things went alright today? How’s Dany?”   


  
At the mention of her name, Jon choked out on a sob that he tried so hard to keep in.  _ Dany. _

“I ruined it… I destroyed everything we had.” He managed to get out. 

“What, with Dany? What happened with you guys?”

“I lied to her. I lied and she hates me now.”

Robb nodded, then his eyes widened. “Oh my gods, you didn’t cheat on her did you?”

Jon whipped his face to him, his own eyes wide in horror. “Cheat?! You think I would cheat on her?! I loved her, Robb, I never would have done that to her…”   


  
His voice faltered, trailing off as he realized his own words. He would never cheat on Dany,  _ never. _ But if he managed to lie to her the entire time, did that mean he was capable of being unfaithful as well? Did that make him no better than a cheater? The thought made him sick, and he had to stand up to shake the thought away. He walked over and sat on the edge of his bed, his legs spread and his elbows resting on each one, fingers clasped tightly together. 

“Okay, not cheating then… So what happened?” 

Jon groaned, burying his face in his hands before answering. 

“This whole time, I was lying to her. I didn’t start dating her because I liked her. I did it because… because Theon and I made a bet with each other. I’d get $200 if she told me she loved me first, but I’d give him twice as much if I fell first. And for a while, all I could think of while I was with her was just get her to fall for me, get my money and break it off. Then I truly fell in love with her, and I forgot all about it. That fight I had with Theon? It was because he demanded I give him the money, but I didn’t want to. So he decided to tell Dany the truth after school. Then I came, and he made me tell her and-  _ fuck, _ Robb, I don’t know anymore… If I had just given him the money, maybe- _ maybe _ he wouldn’t have said anything, and-and I’d still have her…”    


  
Jon’s voice trailed off, a new wave of fresh tears going through him again. 

“Oh… wow. That’s a lot to take in.” Was all he said. 

_ Gods, if it was a lot for Robb to take in, how must Dany have felt?  _ The guilt never seemed to stop flowing through him. 

“It’s my fault.” He murmured, to Robb or himself, he didn’t know. “And I know you agree with me.”   


  
Robb didn’t say anything at first, confirming Jon’s assumption.    


  
“Well, since we’re brothers, I see no point in lying to you; it sounds like it’s on you. Maybe there’s no excuse for what you did. You shouldn’t have lied to her in the first place, and even if you did, you shouldn’t have let it go this far without saying anything. It’s not fair to you, and it’s especially not fair on Dany. So yeah, it is your fault.”   


  
Jon looked up at Robb, who stood before him with his arms crossed. He furrowed his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

“Aren’t you supposed to be making me feel better? Cause right now, you sure as hell are doing the complete bloody opposite of that Robb.” He told him irritatedly. Robb pretended to think deeply about it.

“No, not really. Like I said, I’m here to tell you the truth. No point in sugar coating everything, not looking to gain anythin’ from you. But I can give some advice.”   


  
“Oh, please, do tell. I’d love to hear it.” He said sarcastically. 

“I’m going to let your sarcastic ass slide for right now since you’re hurting. Now, listen, yeah, maybe you fucked up a bit, or _ a lot  _ actually. But that doesn’t mean it has to end right here. Now I’m not saying you gotta go to Dany exactly right now and profess your love and deepest apologies to her, but I am saying to give things some time to cool off between the both of you, and when you think it’s time, talk to her.”

Jon rolled his eyes at the first, but listened intently. He wished Robb was right. He hoped to all the gods that people believed in throughout Westeros and Essos that Robb was right, and that maybe he can get things to clear up between him and Dany with the help of a little bit of time. But deep down, he knew the dark truth. 

“She won’t want to listen to me. No matter how much time passes.” 

His voice was rough, his accent made thicker with grief. Jon knew that fact for certain. He understands how bad he’s hurt her. He’s done nothing but only added to her pain and losses. 

“Well you won’t know until you try, do you?”   
  


_____

Dany’s hands were shaking, not from fear, but from excitement as she rounded the corner and made it to Missandei’s locker, her hands tucked behind her. 

“What’s got you so giddy?” Missy chuckled at Dany’s wide smile and almost bouncing feet. 

She brought her hands in front of her, the enveloped in hand as she excitedly presented it to Missy. 

“I got in! I made it in Missy!”    
  
Missy’s eyes widened as she read Dany’s college acceptance letter, then squealed in excitement as she and Dany shared an embrace, bouncing up and down, ignoring the weird looks that some students were throwing at them. 

“Dany, I’m so happy for you! I can’t believe it, we’re going to college together!” Missy exclaimed, her voice high pitched with excitement for the both of them. 

Missy had gotten her acceptance letter to Dragonstone University a week before Dany had. All week, she’d pretended that she was fine, and that it didn’t matter to her if she got in or not, even if she felt the exact opposite of that. But when she had woken up this morning and gotten ready for school, Tyrion had told her a mail came in just for her today. As soon as she had read the word ‘Congratulations’, Dany screamed herself raw, and excitedly told Tyrion, who had been happy for her, as well as worried that they would get a noise complaint from their neighbors. Now she and Missy would be going to the same college together. 

They shared another hug, Missy excitedly clapping for their future. Then she stopped, the smile wiping off her face as she turned serious. 

“What?” 

  
“He’s looking at you.”    


  
Missy gestured her head over her shoulder, and Dany turned to see. True to her word,  _ he  _ was staring at their general direction, and what looked to be a small, sad smile on his face. When he realized that he was caught staring, he looked away, pulling his bag over his shoulder and walking away. 

“I don’t understand why he can’t just leave you alone.” Missy’s voice was filled with contempt, a complete opposite to what it was just a minute ago. “I mean, he’s already done the damage, what more could he possibly want?”

_ Me.  _

The week and a half, Jon had been trying his best to get in contact with Dany again. Whether it was through spamming her phone with texts, calls, and voicemails, trying to contact Missandei, waiting at her locker, or even just showing up to her apartment. Each time he had failed. Dany had blocked him through all communication and Missy had done the same. Missy was kind enough to look ahead and see if Jon was waiting for her at her locker, and if he was, she’d tell him to walk away herself. Dany had told Tyrion of the whole situation, and even he assisted her with it by answering the door in case it was Jon. If it was, he’d tell him she wasn’t at home. 

“It’s fine. Ignore him Missy.”    


“I can’t ignore him when he’s basically trying to harass you.”    


  
“I'm sure he's not trying to do that. Let him suffer it then. He deserves it. Besides, I don’t want him to ruin how exciting this day is for both of us.” 

Dany smiled at her at the last part. There was  _ no way _ she was letting Jon ruin the prospect of her exciting foreseeable future. Eventually, she got a smile out of Missy too.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I won’t let him get away with ruining this day. Besides, at least we’ll be moving away. It’ll be good to finally leave this place.” 

Dany nodded, agreeing to her friend’s statement. And with that, the two girls linked arms and walked away.

  
_____

_ “Daenerys? Daenerys are you alright in there?” _ _  
  
_

Tyrion’s muffled voice came through the door, but Dany ignored him. 

“Go a-away!” She yelled, her voice breaking. Tyrion was never one to listen half, if not most of the time, but thankfully, he listened this time. She doesn’t care if she’s keeping him from sleeping, she just wants him away. She waited until she could hear her footsteps walk away and fade into the hallway, before letting another sob wrack through her body. Since her bed was in the corner of her room, she huddled as close as she could to the corner, her knees tucked into her chest as yet another wave of sadness came through her. This was yet just another moment of her crying over what she had lost. And she hated herself for it. 

She wanted him to leave. Leave her mind, her heart, her soul, she wanted him  _ gone. _ Dany wanted nothing more to forget the past several months ever happened. He had done nothing but hurt her, lied to her, used her. He only noticed her, made her feel things she’s never felt before, and for what? A couple hundred dollars and an inflated ego? 

_ Money. _ Dany squeezed her eyes shut and balled her fists up, but she couldn’t contain her anger and frustration. She let out a frustrated, wrangled soundeding cry and threw another pillow to the wall on the opposite side of the room, hitting the floor softly. 

_ He never loved me,  _ she realized. He’s only used her for his personal benefit. 

_ I don’t understand. I gave him everything I had. I told him everything about me. I tried to be what he needed. He always told me I was enough, that he loved me for  _ me. _ Was I not enough? Was I not enough for him to drop the stupid game with his friend?  _

She stared at the promise ring that hung around her finger.  _ Was this a lie too?  _ She looks at it, studies it, then with her other hand, she clutches onto the necklace around her neck given by him as well. She knows he has a similar ring to hers. Or maybe it’s _ had _ now. He most likely threw it. She knows she should throw hers away, give back everything she’s ever received from him or throw it away and burn it. It would make it easier to forget about him. But she can’t bring herself to. She wants to treasure such precious gifts. No matter how fake the circumstances were.

And no matter how hard Dany wanted him to disappear from her memories, she also wanted nothing more than to have him  _ back.  _ She wanted nothing more than for him to just reappear at her side, take her into his arms and comfort her. She wanted him to be here to whisper sweet nothings into her ear, tell her everything will be alright, and make love to her to let her forget everything. 

No matter how much she believed he never wanted her.

She wanted  _ Jon.  _ His name is always the last thing she says before blacking out.

_ “Jon.” _

_____ 

He doesn’t know if she’s faking it, or if she’s truly better, but Jon only knows that she looks  _ good. _ Not in the suggestive way, but in a healthier way. He hadn’t been in contact with her with her for a few weeks now, and  _ gods,  _ if this isn’t killing him, then he must be some type of immortal. 

Jon used to love sleeping. He loved the feel of his warm, comfy bed waiting for him after a long day, whether coming home from practice, jumping into bed after school, or staying in the comfort of it while he did his homework, watched tv, or did absolutely nothing. 

But now? Now, his bed is nothing but a place of misery. A place where he lies awake at night and well into the early hours of the morning, wondering about all the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘if-onlys’. 

It’s a place where he remembers the happy memories. The way she tried to hide a smile when she pretended to be mad at him, only for him to make her laugh. Or the way she giggled, and it sounded like literal music to him. The way she squealed whenever he tickled her, only for her to be ‘mad at him’. He loved so many things about her, really, everything and anything about her because it made her  _ her. _ He remembers how soft her body felt against his, and when they made love, how the sounds of her soft pants and moans were what kept him moving. How the morning afters’ always made him drunk and high on happiness. 

Jon remembers well how he felt he was on cloud 9 whenever he was with her. 

He sits up from his bed, throwing the covers off of him and moving to his bedroom window. It overlooked the front part of their estate, currently shadowed by the darkness of the night. He can’t bear to be in the bed any longer. Because he remembers taking her up into his room once, both of them trying to stifle their laughs and chuckles as he snuck her upstairs, before closing his door and being  _ very quiet  _ with her behind said closed door. And when he thinks back to that, he remembers that it’s something that can’t happen and will never happen again, only in his dreams and memories. 

He wants her back so bad. Jon wants her back more than a pirate wants to find his gold, more than a king wants his throne. 

_ King. _

Dany was  _ his queen. _ Not a lady, not a duchess, not a princess, but a  _ queen _ . She ruled over his heart, and without a ruler, he feels lost. 

He stares at the tattoo on his wrist, at the ring around his finger. Before, he thought them to be romantic, a sort of symbolism of what they were. Now, he feels like he’s being taunted. Taunted by the things that once were, and what will never be again. 

From the outside, one might think he was overreacting about all of this. After all, they were just supposed to be dumb high schoolers crying over a high school fling. But it was more than that with Dany. It felt so much deeper than just a teenager’s fling, what they had. And Jon stood by that. He doesn’t think he’ll ever find a love as deep and connected as he had with Dany. He might just never fall in love again. 

With a deep sigh, he returns back to his bed, bringing the covers up to bury himself in. He toys with the ring on his finger, as he’s done every night since they’d broken off. 

_ “Dany… Dany, my Dany, I’m so sorry.”  _

She’s probably gotten rid of it all, the necklace, the ring. Hell, she’s probably even booked an appointment to get the tattoo removed. But Jon vows to himself he won’t do the same. He won’t try to erase the memory of his time with her, because it was one of the most magical times of his entire life. 

He failed her Uncle. Not only had he failed her, he failed one of the most important figures in her life. 

_ “I try not dwell on my regrets in this life, but one that I cannot let go of is how little time we’ve spent in each other’s company. But the few times I have gotten to talk with you, I can see how good you are. And I’m trusting you with a responsibility that should’ve been mine, that shall now befall you. Take care of my sweet niece. The first few days, to even weeks, this will all be very hard for her. I’m asking you to please be there for her. Be her rock, and make sure she doesn’t float away. She’s lost enough family as it is, and I hate that she must live to see another one leave. I’m asking you to be kind, be patient, be gentle and be loving to her. She’ll need it. I can feel great potential in both of you. I only hope that you’ll both be mature enough in this relationship of yours to get through life. Relationships can be hard, especially in high school and college. But if you do it together, I have no doubt you’ll get through just fine. I leave you with those words Jon Stark. I hope and trust you’ll keep them in your mind and heart. Let her grieve for her a bit, but hold her. Kill the boy inside of you, and become the man you’re destined to be. For the both of you.”  _

He couldn’t take care of her. He couldn’t ground her and hold her the way he was supposed to, the way he should have. And now, Aemon’s most likely up there in the heavens, disappointed in the  _ boy _ he had trusted to take care of his precious niece. That was what Jon was. He failed to become the man Dany needed. Jon Stark was nothing but a  _ boy. _

Jon’s eyes burn once more, another piece of his heart cracking and chipping off. He hates himself for crying. Not because he thinks it makes him weak, but because he has no right to. The whole thing was his fault wasn’t it? He knew what he was getting himself into when he shook on it. He knew one way or another things would have to end. Except maybe he just didn’t know it would hurt  _ this much. _ He never would’ve known just how hard he’ll fall for the quiet, purple eyed, silver haired girl, who managed to steal his heart and change his life forever. 

And the last thing he says before letting the darkness consume him and haunt his dreams is her name:

_ “Dany.” _

  
  


  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you guys thought of that! all (nice and constructive) comments are accepted. 
> 
> also, I'll be changing the tags a little bit. not necessarily changing them, but just cleaning it up a bit more and maybe the summary as well. the title will still be the same. I know I'm still working on this fix, but I've had another fix idea come to mind. I'm not going to spoil exactly what it is, but it would definitely be a Jonerys Disney au. I have most, if not all, the details for that planned, I'm just still on the fence on writing it. 
> 
> hope you guys liked this chapter, it was kind of hard for me to get into the exact mood and emotion for this chapter between Jon and Dany, but I really hoped it was clear enough for you.


	21. All that glitters is not gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I present to you, chapter 21

||  _ 8 years later _ ||

Dany’s sweet dreams were interrupted by the ugly sound of her phone alarm and the rude ray of sunlight that managed to peek through the blinds and prevent her from seeing. 

_ Another day,  _ she thought. 

She grabbed her phone to turn off the ugly ringing, then settled back into bed. Dany smiled as the arm around her waist tightened, a low groan making the chest behind her back rumble. 

“I have to get ready for work, love.” She smiled, wrapped her own arms around his. 

“ _ Mm, no. _ ” __

Dany chuckled at his reluctance to let her go. His voice was still heavy with sleep, but he refused to release her from his arms. If only she didn’t need to work, she would gladly stay here in bed with him all day. Maybe this weekend.  _ What an exciting prospect.  _ However, the war between calling in sick and going to work was over, and the latter had won. When she moved, a sound of reluctance sounded at his throat, but he let her go. With a kiss to his forehead, Dany got up from bed, taking her silk robe draped over the armchair and wrapped it around her naked body, heading inside the bathroom. 

After having a nice, warm and refreshing shower to start her day, she jumped into her work clothes, buttoning up her white blouse and zipping up the back of her black slacks. Her makeup today was an all natural look, her eyelids clear of any unnatural color, instead, opting for her foundation, a little bit of mascara, and lip balm. Dany didn’t feel the need to glam herself up today. As for her hair, it was straightened, and left falling down over her shoulders. She almost walked out, before remembering one final thing.  _ Her engagement ring!  _ She slipped on the 6 karat round cut engagement ring to her left ring finger and admired it, before finishing up.

Once she emerged from the bathroom, her beloved fiancé was getting dressed for his day to work as well. 

“Somebody’s finally awake.” She teased.

“Not that I want to be.” He gruffed out, but eventually put on a smile for her. Dany snorted, going into her walk-in closet to get her briefcase. 

“Well, while you stay here being a grump, I gotta head to work. I’ll see you later.” She walked over to him, giving a peck to his cheek and left the room. “Love you!”    
  


“Love you too!” 

  
  


After having stopped by a coffee shop to pick up her daily cup order, Dany walked into her office, greeted by the usual chirpy smiles and faces. 

“Good morning Daenerys!” Chippered Irri from her desk. 

“Good morning Irri,” she calmly replied. It was still a bit early for her to be energetic. Perhaps after her cup of coffee she’ll feel better. 

She opened the door to her office, closing it gently behind her. Placing her cup of caffeine on to the side of her desk, she slipped off the single side strap off her briefcase off her shoulder, resting it on the desk to slip her laptop out, then placing the bag underneath the table. Dany took a seat in her newly-bought office chair that Daario had bought for her a couple weeks back after weeks of complaining how her back was getting messed up by the old one. It was a white leather swivel and rolling chair of great value that Dany so greatly appreciated, and her back as well. She even let out a soft sigh, adjusting her body appropriately on the white leather. 

After allowing her back that minute of relaxation, Dany slid forward on the chair, opening her laptop up and checking her plentiful emails. A few minutes later, a knock sounded at her door. 

“Come in,” she politely allowed. The door opened to reveal Doreah. 

“Doreah! I didn’t know you were back already.” She got up to greet her friend with a hug. 

“Oh, yes, I just got back yesterday.”    


  
“How was Vaes Dothrak?” Dany inquired, knowing her friend had taken a vacation back home to Essos to see her family. 

“It was lovely. I forgot how…  _ exotic _ , the food could be. I’m too used to all this Westerosi food. Though it is Northern, so not nearly as fancy as it is in the Southern areas.” 

Dany smiled, enjoying her friend’s little retelling. “Well I’m glad you enjoyed it.”    


  
“Thank you. Oh! Ah, you have a client waiting for you. A Margaery Tyrell?”    


  
Her eyes widened for a brief half-second. She had forgotten that was today!    
  


“Oh, yes. Please, send her in.” Doreah nodded, and left to get her. 

Dany took a swift look around her office space, making sure it looked alright. She hated being so untidy in front of others, especially if it’s her office. Thankfully enough, the last shipment of boxes came over a month ago, and the items inside had been put away, with the boxes thrown. Just as she sat back down, her door opened, revealing her client. 

“Margaery Tyrell, I presume? Please, have a seat.” Dany greeted her warmly with a bright smile, the coffee slowly making its way through her system. They shook hands, which the other woman graciously shook, then took a seat on the chair across from her desk. 

“Miss Tyrell, it was you that called last week, correct?” Dany asked to confirm. 

“Yes, that would be me. And please, Margaery is fine.”    


  
Dany smiled, nodding her head. “Then Daenerys is also acceptable.” She scanned the email she had printed out and received from Margaery, looking over the details, her brows creasing together. “I’m sorry, but in the email you sent to me, it says we were to be discussing company merging? Your company here is the Tyrell Manufacturing Business. Is the representative of the other company going to be joining us today?”    


  
“Oh, yes. Forgive my husband, he will be joining us shortly. He’s one of the CEO’s. He was catching a last minute meeting this morning.” The woman spoke with a calm, exuding confidence that Dany almost envied. 

“Of course.” Dany said, but in a polite way. While she and Margaery waited, she began drafting and printing the papers needed for the merging process. Soon enough, a knock came through her door, and she presumed that Margaery’s husband had finally arrived. 

“Come in.” She called out from her desk, folding her hands neatly in front of her as the door opened. 

He nodded his head at the two ladies, closing the door behind him. “Forgive me for being late. I was caught up with a meeting.” He smiled a charming smile, one that looked oddly familiar, then took the chair next to his wife’s and extended his hand out, shaking Dany’s hand. “I’m Robb Stark.”

_ Robb Stark?  _ Yes, she’s definitely met this man before. 

“Daenerys Targaryen. I’ll be in charge of overseeing your and your wife’s company merge.”

She watched as he frowned slightly, no doubt thinking the same as she had.  _ Where has she met him before… _

“Daenerys? Daenerys Targaryen?”    


  
“Have we met before, Mr. Stark?” She inquired. He was definitely at the tip of her memory, she just couldn’t place a finger on who exactly he was. She shot a glance at Margaery, who watched their interaction with an amused and confused look. 

“You don’t happen to be Dany from Winterfell High School, right?”   


  
Dany’s eyes immediately widened. She did know him! She recalls being familiar with him in her high school year, her senior year she believed. 

“Oh my gods, Robb?”    


  
Robb broke into a large smile, hugging her from over her desk, an awkward but welcome position. Dany was laughing, glad to have met with an old friend. 

“I knew you looked really familiar! Not usually common to see many silver haired people up here in the North. It’s good to see you again, time’s been good to you.” He complimented her, which she took graciously. 

“Thank you, as do you.” She returned. Robb looked over to his wife, who smiled as well. 

“Oh! Dany, you remember Margaery? She went to Winterfell High too.”    
  
Dany nodded quickly. “Of course. Her name was familiar to me. It’s very nice to see you both again. And now you’re both married!” It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about what happened between him and Talisa, but she quickly swallowed it back down. It had been a high school relationship, and like most, did not last. And it didn’t really seem like a wise choice to question Robb about his ex girlfriend in front of his wife. 

  
“We are,” the married couple shared a loving look before Robb turned back to her. “And quite a story that was. We should definitely meet up over some drinks and catch up, it’d be good.” Margaery nodded as well, and she hoped that this whole reuniting thing with her husband and a woman she barely knows isn’t as awkward to her as Dany believes. 

“Definitely.” Dany unanimously agreed, taking her seat and smoothing down her black slacks. 

“Great! We can talk about that after, you know, we talk about this whole merging thing.” Dany laughed, nodding politely, indicating that yes, they should probably get things started. However, it was definitely nice to see an old friend again. 

_____

After about an hour or two, they reached an agreement on the start of a few important details. They definitely haven’t completely gone through everything, but as she learned, all merging took time. Especially with huge companies such as Robb and Margaery’s. 

“I think that should be all for today. We’ve made some good progress.” 

The three stood up, and Dany took the time to shake both of their hands. 

“I’ll be seeing you both next week. Be sure to go over the staff count, as well as finalizing both of your individual due diligence over each of your companies to present to me the next time we meet.”    


  
“Of course. Thank you for your time Daenerys.” Margaery warmly thanked her.    


  
“Oh, it’s no problem at all.” Dany tried to brush off her praise. 

“Don’t forget the drinks! It’s been a while since I’ve been on a good night out. Too busy with all the preparation for this merging stuff.” Robb chuckled, earning himself a laugh from both women. 

“I won’t forget. Here,” Dany reached in her drawer for a sticky note, scribbling her number on it and gave it to Robb. “That’s my personal number for you both. Just text me when and where and I’ll be there.” 

“Great. Thank you!” Robb took the small paper from her hands. 

Dany walked them both out to her door, smiling at them as they left. As soon as they were gone, she closed her door and went back on her laptop, checking off and answering any emails that seemed to require urgent responding. Checking the clock, Dany saw that it was 10:30 am. She was sure she could leave the office a little bit earlier and head back home for her lunch break, seeing as she wasn’t expecting any other clients the rest of the day. Sure enough, she left for her lunch break a little bit earlier, driving herself back to her and Daario’s place. 

It was a nice, luxurious apartment in a complex somewhere in downtown Winterfell. When you opened the door, you were met with the open living room with floor-to-ceiling windows that showed a lovely view of the city. Her real estate agent assured her it was an even better view when the snow begins to fall during the winter time. There was one large L-shaped grey leather couch on a large white, furry rug facing their 80-inch tv. It was mounted on a bricked wall, and underneath, a cozy hearth for the colder seasons. They had a full kitchen, though no dining table quite yet. She and Daario have had no time to host guests as of late, and they’ve been doing just fine eating on the kitchen island. There were still a couple boxes left in the living room, as well as their bedroom, guest room and bathroom that needed to be taken care of. She decided to start with the main space, saving her lunch for later. She knelt down, opening up the boxes and taking the items out. 

She and Daario had just moved to Winterfell (or back to Winterfell in Dany’s case) 5 months ago from Essos, where they had met. Dany had graduated a year early from college, and fulfilled a long time wish of hers and lived in Essos for a year. It was incredibly daunting at first, having no one to keep her company along the way, as Missy was still studying in Dragonstone. She lived in Meereen, loving the way the warm summer sun felt on her skin. She had met so many people, and learned so many different cultures. Her eyes had truly been opened to a different world. People in Essos were so much more different than those of Westeros. They were more laidback and easygoing, living their lives day by day, not spending them worried about what they will be doing the day, month, or year after. 

Dany was visiting one of the merchant markets that Meereen liked to hold every weekend. She loved walking around, seeing all the handmade items that people had made themselves and wanted to sell and showcase. She was enjoying a little show that a few young kids had put on, when she stumbled into someone. She had knocked down everything the man was carrying, and was completely mortified. Quickly, she began helping him pick the things up, blubbering her apologies. 

_ “Oh my gods! I am so sorry! I- here let me help.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ The man stared at her in amusement, picking a couple things up himself. It wasn’t too much. He was only carrying a few bags, and other items such as a box of antiques and artifacts that were for sale that she had seen in another tent.  _

_ “No worries. I don’t think I had any super fragile things in there anyways. Just a few old artifacts and stuff.” He chuckled, taking the box from her.  _

_ Dany blushed immediately, embarrassed at this situation. “I-I didn’t know. Please, tell me if I broke anything, I’ll-I’ll replace it.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “I don’t think it’s that easy to replace historical items.” He flashed a smile at her, albeit a bit more of a smirk really.  _

_ Dany’s face went redder. “Well, not like that. I meant, uh, I can pay you back for the cost, if anything broke. Gods, I’m so stupid, I wasn’t looking.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ The man looked at her, an amused look playing on his face. “Miss, really it’s okay. Nothing’s broken, so no need to worry your pretty little head over anything. I’m Daario, by the way.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ He set his stuff down, extending his hand to her, which she shook.  _

_ “Daenerys.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Daenerys?” He questioned. “Seems like a super fancy name for a Meereenese.” A smirk found its way to his face.  _

_ “Oh, I’m not actually from here. I’m from Dragonstone, in Westeros. I just wanted to stay in Essos for a bit before pursuing my career.” She explained, wringing her hands in front of her to keep them busy.  _

_ “That explains a lot. Don’t really sound like you’re from here. I was about to ask if you were from Lys, with the hair and all.” Daario gestured his head towards her hair, which Dany, for some reason, began twirling.  _

_ “Oh, no. I’m not. But it is natural. Just a family trait I guess.”  _

_ What the hell was wrong with her? She had absolutely no reason to be acting like this.  _

_ “Must be one hell of a family then. Not in a bad way of course. It looks good on you.” He complimented her.  _

_ Dany cracked a small smile, biting her inner cheek to keep from smiling like an idiot.  _

_ “Ah, well, I gotta take these back to my place. You seem like an interesting character Daenerys. I’d love to meet up with you again sometime.”  _

_ Dany’s eyes widened, perking up. “ _ _ Well, I’m staying over in the Great Pyramid, if that’s any help.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ He glanced over at the Great Pyramid, a huge hotel that can be seen from their place in the market, then nodded. “I’m not too far there. Maybe we can run into each other again. Just, without knocking anything down preferably.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Dany laughed, free of any nervousness or embarrassment. “Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll see you around then.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ They had run into each other a few times more after that, eventually trading numbers and leading Daario to ask her out. Dany had been extremely tentative at first, her experience with guys completely ruining the whole ‘dating thing’. But after a few pep talks from Missy, she went for it. The first few dates had been great, Daario being an absolute charmer. She soon realized he loved buying her things, whether they be flowers, necklaces, or some simple succulents to help decorate her home. It seemed he loved showering her with gifts, no matter how many times she told him she didn’t need them, he insisted.

About an hour later, she finished unboxing most of the things in the living room, and it was time for her to head back to the office. Before she left though, she unstacked a few photo frames, looking through each one. She had taken all the picture frames from her old apartment when she moved away to college with her. Many of them were those of her family and her Uncle. Others were of her and Missy in college. And of course, some were of her and Daario, going places around Meereen. Dany picked those ones up, placing them on the mantel of the hearth.  _ They look nice there,  _ she thought. With that, it was time to head back to the office. 

_____

Finally, the clock hit 7 pm time, and she was able to go home. Dany shut off her laptop, slipping it into her case and making a mental note to charge it later. She couldn’t wait to go home and relax, she thought. A hot bath sounded really good to her right now.  _ Perhaps if Daario came home early, he’d want to ‘conserve water’ with her…  _

The drive back home was peaceful, the sounds from the outside world a calming lull to her, for some odd reason she did not know. Winterfell wasn’t the busiest of cities, far from it. It was no Kings Landing, overpopulated and stuffy most of the time, but it was no Eyrie either, completely shunned off from the rest of the country, as well as dark and gloomy. It was right in the middle. Winterfell definitely did not have the perfect weather. The winters could be especially cruel here sometimes, from what she can recall of living here before. But the people were nice enough. They could tend to be a little cold to outsiders at first, some of them anyway, but they were accepting in the end. She loved the feel of belonging here, how it felt to be accepted. If you knew someone, chances were that they’d treat you like family sometimes. People from the North usually had that family-first aura with them, and Dany completely respected that. 

A call sounded from the screen of her car, the bluetooth connected with her phone. She pressed the ‘answer’ button. 

“Dany?”    


  
“Missy, hey. How are you?” Dany perked up at her best friend’s voice.    


  
“I’m doing good, did you just leave the office?” 

“Uh, yeah. I’m almost home. Why?” She inquired from her. She turned left, entering the parking lot to her complex. 

“Oh, I was just thinking. We should head out for some drinks sometime. You know, celebrate your and Daario’s engagement.”    


  
Dany chuckled at her friend’s suggestion, shaking her head even though she knew her friend wouldn’t be able to see it. Missy had been so excited to hear that Daario had proposed a few days ago, and now she was dying to go out for drinks to celebrate. Which brought a thought to mind. 

“Oh, hey, you remember Robb Stark and Margaery Tyrell from high school?” Dany found a parking space, parking her car and turning the engine off. The bluetooth had turned off as well, so she picked up her phone and held it to her ear to continue the call. 

“Uh, I think so? Sounds familiar, why? Oh, wait, wasn’t Robb Stark dating that one girl? What was her name… Tal-... Talia?”    


  
“Talisa.” Dany corrected, her friend just a little bit off. 

“Talisa! That’s right. So what about him and Margaery?”   


  
“Well, they were both of my clients that I met with today. And they’re married! They wanted to merge their two businesses together, the Tyrell Manufacturing and Stark Corporation.” She excitedly informed her. 

“Married? No way. How the hell did that happen?”    


  
Dany shrugged, waving at the receptionist and walking into the elevator, pressing her floor button.  _ 4 _

“I have no idea, but Robb recognized me and he suggested we should get drinks together, with his wife of course, and catch up. So I thought it’d be a good idea to just combine all of us together. I might get pretty busy here soon, so I don’t know about two separate outings.” Dany explained, exiting the elevator. She walked down the long hallway, her apartment just around the corner. Once she got there, she had to put her briefcase down and dig her keys out of her pocket.  _ Okay keys, where are you? _ _  
_

_  
_ “You should totally invite him then! That’ll be fun. When do you want to do it? I’m stuck grading papers Friday afternoon, but I can make it in the evening.”    


  
“Friday evening works for me. I’ll shoot him a text later. I just got home, so I gotta go. Bye.”    
  
“Bye.” 

Dany clicked off the call, putting her phone down on the cold, marble kitchen counter and setting her case aside. She looked around the kitchen, blowing a breath out. Then a thought popped up. 

“Dinner…. Right….  _ shit _ .” 

She hadn’t picked up any dinner for her and Daario on her way home, the thought completely flying from her memory. She could only hope Daario brought some on his way back home, but even then, she didn’t know when he’d be home. His schedule could be unpredictable. Some days he was home earlier than her, others she had already gone to sleep before he arrived. Dany hoped he would come a little bit earlier than that, preferably with food for the both of them. They had some Dornish wine in the refrigerator. She felt like eating take-out and drinking wine while watching a movie tonight with him. 

She plopped herself down on the couch, grabbing the remote and turning the mounted tv on, switching the channels until she found one that seemed remotely interesting to her. Dany knew that she had to send Robb a text of the new plans, but had remembered that due to her ’ _extreme intelligence’_ sometimes, she had only given them her number, and not asked for theirs in return. _Great. I’ll just have to wait until they contact me first._ _Or I could just get their numbers from my records from earlier._ Maybe tomorrow night. Just then, the front door opened, followed a few seconds later by the closing click. Dany glanced to her right, smiling as she got up to greet Daario with a kiss to the cheek.

“Hey, I brought Pentoshi,” he lifted the takeout bag in his hand with a smile. Dany’s eyes fluttered as she groaned. 

“Oh thank  _ gods! _ I was just about to call if you could bring food home. I’m starving.” 

“So how was work?” He asked her as they made their way to the kitchen, Dany taking the bag from his hand and untying it to take the food out. Daario removed his gear belt and vest, setting down in their bedroom before quickly returning out to her. 

“Mostly the same I guess. I did have two of my old high school friends as clients though.” Friends wasn’t exactly the right word to call them, well, Margaery anyway. She was never really close with the girl, but Dany had known Robb and visited his childhood house plenty enough. 

“Did you? How’d that go?” He took his styrofoam box with his order, taking a seat on the kitchen island, Dany following his actions. 

“Pretty well. They’re married now, so it’s kinda weird to see them again, but it was alright. We’re going out for drinks on Friday evening with Missy.” She took a bite out of the orzo with mushrooms, savoring the taste of it. 

“That’s fun.” 

They continued their meal, filling the silence with small bits of their day, but mostly eating. They had thrown the styrofoam boxes away, washing the utensils and putting it away in the dishwasher to dry out. 

“I think we have some ice cream for dessert in the freezer somewhere,” Daario called out to her, digging through their freezer, though it was mostly empty so Dany didn’t know what took him so long to find it. “Aha, found it! It’s, uh, mint chocolate. You want?” He placed the half eaten pint of ice cream on the counter top, opening a drawer for a spoon and a bowl to put it in. 

Dany looked at him in amusement, chuckling for no reason at all other than just to chuckle. After she dried her hands with a hand towel and placed it down, she walked over to him, capturing his full attention by snaking her hands over his neck, leaving him no choice but to face her. 

“I’m not really in the mood for  _ ice cream _ right now,” she whispered into his ear and smiled to herself as he placed the spoon down behind her. 

“No?” His voice was smooth as he wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a kiss to her neck. 

“Mm,  _ no _ .” Dany shook her head and leaned back from him only to close the distance again with the connection of their lips. She hummed into his mouth, sighing as he brought her closer to him. They only broke apart when Dany backed away to take his hand, leading him to the bedroom. Their bedroom.

  
The ice cream was left, forgotten and melted.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there's still holes to fill as to what exactly happened in the time period between last chapter and this chapter, and I promise you all that it will be answered eventually. I wanted to try and span things out over the course of multiple chapters so it's not all just an information dump on y'all. 
> 
> I have no idea how being a corporate lawyer is like, this is just the job that I envisioned Dany having. I was having trouble deciding whether she would be a corporate lawyer or a family lawyer. obviously, the latter makes more sense for her, but you'll understand why she had to be a corporate lawyer in order for this story to work out in the end. 
> 
> next chapter: keeping up with the Jon Snow (next chapter is all Jon lol)
> 
> also, maybe some of you have noticed but each chapter title is carefully chosen to match the 'theme' or underlying 'theme' of each chapter (or at least, I try to make sure it matches. I have a whole list in my notes of chapter titles that I choose from to match each chapter). not to spoil anything, but if any of you wanted hints, there you go.


	22. To live life is so beautiful; but many only exist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Jon's new life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since what I want to say won't fit into this intro note box, I'll say it in the chapter

**((NOTE:))** do i even want to talk about the last chapter? No, i really don’t. But i feel the need to address some things that were said. And i see the problem here. Many who are:

a) Surprised of dany and daario and feel that i have ‘click baited’ them<br />  
b) Upset that the tags have changed and that dany and daario are not a ‘minor’ relationship anymore<br />  
c) Upset that dany did not remember jon or even thought of him at all.

Those are the main issues. I’m going to start by first addressing that i am sorry to those i have disappointed with the turns of this fic. I am sorry that things did not turn out the way you expected and hoped. I never would have thought that a story that i decided to write for fun would turn into such a mess like this. 

A time jump of 8 years has happened. It has been in the tags. Dany/Daario was a future couple that was tagged. But it was also tagged as minor. And many are upset because of how ‘detailed’ their relationship seems to be when it was once minor, and is no longer tagged that. They are adults. Dany and Jon are about 26 years old now. Now I understand it is MY mistake to tag them as minor. They (Dany/Daario) are not as minor as Jon/Val or Jon/Ygritte, but they are also nowhere near as major as Daenerys and Jon. That is why I decided to remove the ‘minor’ tag because I felt many may be upset that they are not that minor. When I first posted this fic and tagged them ‘minor’, I did it because I didn’t have the most clear idea how I was going to do dany and daario, after all, I still had 20 chapters of Jon and Daenerys build up to think about. I used this chapter as an introduction to the new life that Dany now lives, to show that she is in a relationship that is major to her. Now could I have done this without ‘descriptive’ scenes with daario? Maybe. But I think that this was how I would be able to sell it. Dany is a free woman. She’s allowed to have sex with someone she’s about to get married with, someone’s she’s living with. But it’s not detailed. It’s not detailed the way I wrote Jon and Dany. it wasn’t smut. I simply alluded to it. 

The tags from the beginning were a mess. I know that. This is my first Jonerys story. This is my first ‘official’ story actually writing with ao3. But I don't think that will garner any pity, and it shouldn’t. It’s simply an explanation. 

‘Dany is living her best life’ 

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Maybe I could have worded it differently. The point there is that dany is no longer confined in a ‘shell’ of sorts like she once was. She’s a grown woman and, like I've said, a free woman. She isn’t trapped as much by her past anymore, if not really at all. 

And finally, Dany didn’t think of Jon when Robb came in. Missy did not mention Jon when Dany said Robb. First off, Missy and Dany are best friends. She knew how hard that whole thing with Jon was for dany. They’ve talked about it, and Missy has then decided to not bring him up anymore (when did they talk about it? In the future chapters I haven’t posted yet but feel inclined to say anyways because… well i need to). As for Dany not thinking of Jon. I thought about it long and had whether I should include dany even grimacing at the thought of jon. But in the end I decided not to. I decided for her to ‘ignore his existence’. And that was a mistake on my part. The reason why was because of the 8 year time jump, and how i could try to make this relatable. I’ve had exes, and the thought of them does flash my mind when something or someone is related to them. But then I tried to place that 8 years back. Granted, I don't have an ex from over 8 years ago, so it’s a little bit more difficult for me to try and write it out. But i can hardly remember what i was doing 8 years back. Yes, Jon was a significant part of Dany’s life, so I understand how frustrating it is to see that she hasn’t given him a single thought once in this chapter. I also know it may have been selfish of me to base dany’s reaction off of my own, but it’s what I had to do. 

All in all, I was incredibly upset and discouraged to see so many negative comments on this chapter. But I understand. Most were mistakes on my part. Many have abandoned this story. And I’d much rather have that than to have constant hate that’s such a big put-down. I’m not asking for pity, I don't want that. I just ask that you understand the things I have said. I recognize my mistakes, and I appreciate those who have given their thoughts in constructive, respectful manners. To those who did not, please remember that I am not a robot. I’ve got feelings of my own that do get hurt. I write because I think it’s fun. That’s it. Thank you to those that have said kind things, they are not overlooked. In a world that’s so full of bad things, and especially as we all go through a dark period of time right now, we shouldn’t be tearing each other down. Especially not over a fictional piece of work written for free and fun. 

I am just as much of a jonerys shipper as you guys are who are in the jonerys tags. Some might disagree. My blog is almost completely pro-jonerys. I’ve only ever read jonerys tagged fics. If that doesn’t convince you, i had an instagram where i’ve mostly posted all jonerys (before i deleted instagram, but it should still be lurking somewhere). I want jonerys to be happy. I was incredibly upset at the direction the writers took them in season 8. But this stuff has to happen in a fic (not referring to s8, that was a shit storm). What I mean by growth is that Dany has grown to be free from the chains of her past. She isn’t weighed down anymore. We see this when she’s with daario. It isn’t detailed yet, but things will be explained, which unfortunately, may lead to people being upset over how ‘detailed’ the history of daario and Dany’s relationship is. Life is an existing factor in this story. 

Anyways, I'll stop there before the note gets longer than the chapter. I didn’t want to post this address separately because i don’t want to disappoint people any more than i already have. I have changed the settings regarding comments to this story because I don't need more of that and neither does anyone else I hope. If you still have any more words to say discussing this fic, i’ll be glad to discuss them with you maturely and privately. I’ve indicated my tumblr on my profile where you can message me there. I cannot be bothered with other social media. And don’t jump to conclusions when you don’t know how things end. Especially after just an introduction. Unless you happen to be a mind reader, jumping to conclusions is usually not a good idea. Some of you have jumped to conclusions that are completely and totally wrong. okay, that's all now. 

____________________

_ I can’t breathe.  _

It’s the first thing that went through Jon’s mind as he found himself gaining consciousness. 

_ I’m having sleep paralysis.  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ This is how I’m going to die.  _

Just as he felt like he was going to succumb into the darkness that captured his breath, he felt fur.  _ Thick  _ fur. 

Jon jerked in his bed. “ _ Seven Hells,  _ Ghost!” He scolded his overly large dog, who for some reason decided it was a good idea to sleep on his owner’s face whilst he slept. Fortunately, the all white dog took the hint and got off, moving to the foot of the bed. He whined, looking at Jon, before setting his head down on the mattress, his red eyes boring into his. Jon looked at him, amused at his way of ‘asking’. 

“Alright, alright.” Jon heaved a sigh as he threw the covers back. He headed into his kitchen first to feed his needy dog his breakfast. He bent down, reaching for the measuring cup inside the dog food.  _ 4 cups of your expensive food _ ,  _ Ghost.  _ Once he put the measuring cup back inside, he looked at his dog. 

“Okay, eat.” Jon allowed. Ghost looked at him for a second, then huffed and ate his food. Jon chuckled and rolled his eyes at him. Sometimes he felt a person was actually trapped inside his dog’s body.  _ Gods, I hope not.  _ That would make things ten, no, a hundred times weirder when he thought back to the times he’s brought a girl back to his condo.  _ That would kind of explain the weird looks Ghost gave him the morning after. _

Jon left Ghost alone to eat his food, preparing the coffee machine for his morning cup of coffee and went back inside his room to get ready. After a nice shower, he decided to wear one of his usual attires to work; black chino pants, a white button down long sleeved shirt and his regular dress shoes. He’d made sure that the sleeves of his shirt covered down to his wrists. His hair was tied back into a bun since he didn’t want his messy curls bothering him all day long. He knew he should get a haircut, but either he never found the time to, or he was too tired and lazy to do anything about it. His beard however, was regularly trimmed. He didn’t need to look like a darker haired version of his friend, Tormund. 

Soon, Jon was dressed and ready for his day at work. Ghost’s dog sitter would come by later and take him out to use the bathroom and for his walk. He walked into the kitchen, getting his coffee into his stainless steel tumbler and grabbing his glasses that he’d left on the counter the night before.

“Alright Ghost. I gotta go to work now buddy. You be good for Anna okay?” He ruffled his dog’s head a bit, Ghost leaning into his hand. He smiled as his dog perked up at the name of his sitter, knowing how much he enjoys his time with the young girl. Jon had hired Anna, a young 20 year old college student, to take Ghost out and walk him every morning when he couldn’t. Though there was only a 6 year age difference between them, Jon considered her to still be young. That didn’t stop the girl, however, from developing a slight crush on Jon. She tried to hide it, but Jon could easily tell from the way she liked to blush whenever he spoke directly to her, or complimented and praised her work. He had been around a plethora of girls to know when one of them liked him. Sadly, at the moment, he was too busy to act on any feelings for anyone, not that he had any. 

Besides, Jon was perfectly happy at the moment living with his 2 year old wolf-looking pet. He didn’t know if you could even call Ghost a pet. His family, or his siblings more like, each had one alaskan malamute after Jon had gone on a run one early morning and heard some cries coming from a box in a dark alleyway. He found 6 puppies in the box. They were tiny then, whining and crying most likely for their mother. Jon immediately took pity on them, and took them to the closest vet before work. A week later, they were put up for adoption, and Jon, out of impulse and because he’s always wanted a dog, adopted them all. Of course, he couldn’t keep all 6 puppies, so he chose one for himself. He had chosen the smallest, whitest pup in the litter, feeling drawn to it somehow. Then he had given the other 5 to his siblings. His parents weren’t totally happy with his decision to give his two youngest brothers, Bran and Rickon, separate dogs of their own, but they managed to convince them. Now, the once tiny, precious pups were great beasts of their own. The siblings all try to get together every couple of weeks so that their dogs could play with one another.

After giving his dog one last pat, he exited his condo and made his way to his car. He hadn’t had any time to go to the gym this morning, but he figures he’ll make up for it tomorrow morning. Jon needed to be in the office early since Robb was catching a meeting first before going with Margaery to that merger thing. It left Jon behind to take care of the work of organizing his staff’s work. He also needed to organize a team to help lead the merging process while he worked through the sales agreements. Jon groaned out loud when he realized he’ll need to meet with one of Margaery’s trusted assistants to discuss the different terms. He’ll let Robb deal with the cost and cutdowns, he decides. 

Finally, he makes it to Stark Corporation’s main building. In the lobby, he’s greeted by his staff and co-workers, and he nods to each one of their ‘hellos’ and ‘hi’s’ and ‘good morning’s’. His private office is on the 7th floor, so he gets there easily with the fast working elevator. On this floor are more of the full time workers and his and Robb’s management team. 

Once Jon was inside his office, he shut the door behind him, wanting to block out the noise and sounds from his floor. Jon set his leather satchel down, plopping himself on his chair. Rubbing a hand over his face, Jon sighed.  _ I need a break,  _ he thought, even though he’d literally just got here. Maybe he’ll pay a visit to Tormund’s bar later in the evening. His door sounded with a knock, and his secretary came in. 

“Good morning Mr. Snow! You have a board meeting this evening at 5 pm.” 

Jon nodded. “Alright, thank you.” 

His secretary left, and Jon sighed again. Guess his plans tonight were scrapped. Maybe Friday then.  _ Mr. Snow. _ He had advised his employees and all his other staff to address him as Mr. Snow so as to not confuse him with Robb, who would take Mr. Stark. 

His agenda today seemed to be responding to emails and signing documents. Oh, and meetings.  _ Fun.  _ First, he’ll have to assign his merging team. He’s already looked over his list and edited it a few times. Now, it should be pretty much ready. He’ll be taking Samwell Tarly, or Sam for short, from management accounting. Sam was a pretty smart guy, knew his way around numbers and words and such. Though he was certainly a bit, or a lot, timid. Nice enough guy though. Pyp and Grenn would be great additions too. While the two could certainly be rambunctious at times, they were great workers with great work ethic. 

Jon had first met Sam in college just a few years ago. Sam’s father had forced him to go and study law enforcement as a sort of punishment for being such a timid guy. However, it was clear as crystal to anybody that Sam was not cut out for that kind of work field. Eventually, Jon managed to convince him to change his major, and the boy went out for accounting. When they graduated college and Jon and Robb took over their father’s role of CEO, he offered Sam a place in the business, which he took graciously. 

Pyp and Grenn had come along a few months later, the former coming in a couple weeks first. Pyp wanted to pursue a career in acting and singing at first, but had studied marketing in college as a backup plan. When his performing career did not work out, he turned to his Marketing MBA and managed to land a job in Stark Corporations. Meanwhile Grenn had pursued a job at such a high level business corporation in hopes that his father may notice his achievements. Grenn’s father had abandoned him at a young age, but instead of letting that deter him, it motivated him to become better, and maybe even spite his dad. All in all, the four friends worked along well with each other, even going out for a guy’s night at the bar whenever they had the chance. 

  
  
  


A few hours later, around lunch time, Jon received a knock on his door. 

“Come in.” He called out. It was Robb. Jon stood up, ready to receive his brother. 

“Robb! Hey, how were the meetings?” He inquired. He walked around his desk so that he and his brother stood on the same side of his desk. Robb leaned against it, crossing his arms. 

“Well the first one this morning was… I don’t know. It was all over the place and not that organized. Also went on way too long. I was late for the merger one with Margaery.” Though Robb was most likely just telling it as it was, Jon could sense that something was eating him inside. 

“That’s all?” 

“Not really, no.” Robb cleared his throat, then took a seat on the armchair next to Jon, smoothing down his pants once he sat. “You’ll never guess who’s in charge of the merging.” 

Jon sighed. He was getting tired of these games with him. “Who?” Did it really matter who the identity of this person was anyways?    


  
“Dany. You remember her? Daenerys from high school? She’s back in Winterfell, dude.” 

Jon narrowed his eyes at his brother, thinking he was joking. When he realized he wasn’t, he exhaled hard, leaning back into the chair. Did he remember her? Of course he remembered her. Not so clearly anymore, but it wasn’t like he’d become completely amnesiac. She was the girl he’d spent the first year and a half of college mourning the loss over. And the reason he couldn’t date at first in college. 

He also spent that first year and a half regretting all his high school actions from freshman to senior year. Especially what one might have called his ‘womanizing’ ways. Gods, whenever he thought about that, it made him cringe so hard. It was the reason why he tried to reserve himself in the dating world. He didn’t want to become that person again. Jon was willing to ‘save’ himself (whatever that meant) for the right girl. Except for that time he thought things had gotten really serious with one and he asked her to move in with him, only for her to say that she didn’t want to feel tied down and trapped like that. That shit hurt. 

“Daenerys is back?” Was all he could come up with. What else was he supposed to say? 

“Yup. I don’t know since when, but she’s back. Working a pretty good job as a corporate lawyer too. Isn’t it such a coincidence she’s the one merging our company with Margaery’s? We all went to the same high school.” 

“And she remembered you?” 

“She did. Took us a moment to figure it out. She didn’t say anything about you though.”

_ Figures. _ Though Jon wasn’t expecting much. He hadn’t given her much thought in a long time until Robb brought her up.

“She gave me and Margaery her number, so we’re planning on going for drinks to catch up. Marge and I are thinking Friday would work best, but we haven’t contacted her yet. You should come with us, Jon.” Robb casually explained and invited him, to which Jon chuckled and shook his head. 

“No, I’m good. You guys go on out and have fun.”  _ Can’t go out Friday either. When am I ever going to get a break?  _

“Whatever you say. Oh, you’re covering me for the board meeting later right?” Robb said, pausing before he left the room. 

Jon fake glared at him, returning to his spot at his desk. “Yes,” he muttered. 

Robb gave a big, cheesy smile. “Perfect! Thank you brother. I owe you sometime.” 

He certainly did. 

_____

After a terribly long meeting with the directors (it only took two hours, but to Jon, it felt like a lifetime listening to one issue after another), Jon was ready to leave for home.  _ Sweet, quiet, peaceful home.  _ He’d already planned the rest of his evening; grab some takeout for dinner (Pentoshi sounded nice tonight), head home, feed Ghost, eat his own dinner, and begin working on some of the issues that were brought up at the meeting tonight. 

Jon boarded into his car, placing his leather satchel on the passenger seat as the engine roared to life. He remembered well enough the address of the hole-in-the-wall Pentoshi place that had been built just a couple years ago. It was one of the few food places (in the North at least) that actually made good foreign food. Many places were usually off with the taste. Not that he’d ever actually been to any of the places in Essos or tried any of their food from there. He just felt like they were off. Maybe he’ll visit Essos someday and see if they were actually accurate. 

When he arrived there, he noticed not too many people were inside today. Just a man and a woman, both separate from each other. Jon got out of his car, shutting the engine off and exiting before heading inside. He inhaled the rich aroma of the food inside, falling in line behind the man, who Jon assumed was an officer judging from his outfit, which seemed to be a police uniform. 

  
After the woman ordered and received her food, the man was next, and after him, Jon. After his usual order of the orzo, meat and mushrooms, he waited only a couple minutes, and got his food. He went over to the drinks machine, grabbing his drink and some napkins. 

When he turned around to leave, he collided into the man from earlier, spilling his drink all over his clothes. 

“Shit,” Jon muttered, looking around himself for the napkins to dry himself down. 

“Shit man. I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching.” The man apologized, holding his takeout food off to the side and getting some napkins to give to Jon. Jon took them from him. 

“It’s alright. I needed an excuse to buy some new clothes anyways.” Jon chuckled, but grimaced as the ugly stain seemed to stay there on his  _ white  _ shirt. 

“You sure?” 

  
  
“Really, it’s fine Officer…” Jon trailed off, looking for a name tag on his uniform. _ Naharis.  _ “Officer Naharis.” 

He smiled, though it looked more like a smirk than anything else. “If you insist. Look, I gotta get home. My  fiancée’s probably waiting for me by now.” This Naharis guy explained to Jon. 

“Yeah, yeah of course. Don’t worry about the shirt. It’s fine. Go on home” Jon waved him away, smiling for pleasantries. 

Once he left the restaurant, Jon’s smile fell, and he frowned as he threw the soaked napkins and the fallen and empty soda cup away. He was given another one to replace it, and thankfully had no spills. He managed to make it home without any more incidents, making it home to Ghost with a stained shirt and takeout food. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before anyone says anything, no, the ‘covering wrists’ thing with jon does not mean he cut himself or had suicidal thoughts in college or something. Some of you might know why he wants to keep that covered, but if you don’t, you can either go back a couple chapters and skim around until you think you know, or wait and find out. Jon remembers Dany, okay? alright, I'll see some of you who are still sticking around on the next one. fully prepared (not really) for any negativity now since I also kind of hate how I did this chapter. I wrote a ton in that intro note as I had written that on the same doc as this chapter when I posted that last chapter. comments are moderated now and story is only available to those with accounts. I just wanted to say thank you again to those who have been supportive and/or constructive. I promise you Dany and Jon will be together. 
> 
> ((also, just a frame of reference so you guys have an idea; Dany is also 26))
> 
> Stark kids ages:  
> Robb: 26 turning 27  
> Jon: 26  
> Sansa: 23  
> Arya: 21  
> Bran: 19  
> Rickon: 16
> 
> next chapter: Dany and Missy meet up with Robb and Margaery and catch up


	23. Now my heart feels like an ember, and it's lighting up in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dany and Missandei meet up with Robb and Margaery and some things are shared. Dany runs into someone unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to explain why the time jump is 8 years. I just felt that it made sense with Dany and Jon studying in college plus Dany’s gap year in Meereen. That’s around the time frame of when they graduate. They’re in their first years of working their jobs. It's about 6-7 years in college for both of them to finish and graduate, so I went with it
> 
> The fact that people think I’ve baited them by turning this story to a Dany/Daario is just ridiculous. I am nowhere near stupid enough to waste over 5+ months of my life writing Jonerys and then turn around and make Daario Dany’s forever. Also I think the most hilarious complaint I’ve gotten so far was that Dany and Jon’s break up in chapter 20 was so random… I-what? have you been reading?
> 
> I thought real long and hard about this chapter, still not sure about it, but f uck it

**Unknown Number:** _ Hey Dany, it’s Robb! Wanted to text you about the drinks stuff. Does Friday at 7:30 pm work for you?? @ Free Folk’s Arrow _

Dany glanced at her phone as it dinged to life with a notification. She turned her attention away from her computer and to her phone. 

**Dany:** _ Hi Robb! That time works perfect for me. Would it be alright if I brought a friend along? It’s Missandei, she also went to Winterfell High _

Dany changed the unknown number to Robb’s name to avoid confusion. A few seconds later, she got a reply back. 

**Robb:** _ Of course! Bring her along with us, it’ll be fun. I’ll see you then  _

**Dany:** _ See you! _

Dany clicked off her phone, setting it back down to focus on her work. She was tasked with assisting the  _ White Harbor Credit Union  _ bank with their bank regulations. They were currently butting heads with the  _ Iron Bank.  _ The primary northern bank against the primary southern one. Dany was told this isn’t the first time it’s happened either. She rubbed her temples with both hands, exhaling steadily. The  _ Iron Bank _ wasn’t even originally from Westeros, but Essos, in Braavos more specifically. She didn’t understand why this was even necessary. 

Dany leaned back in her chair, taking a break from her work. It was a pretty cloudy day, not that unusual for Winterfell’s usual climate and weather. She glanced at her clock, the time saying 3:26 in the afternoon. Missy’s students should be out of school by now, meaning it would probably be an okay time to tell her. Her phone rang a few times, waiting for her friend to pick up the phone. 

_ “Dany?” _ _  
_

_  
_ “Hi Missy. Are you busy right now?”    
  


_ “No, not really. School just got out, so nothing too crazy. What’s up?”  _

“Robb texted me. We’re meeting them at Free Folk’s Arrow this Friday at 7:30.” Dany held the phone up so that it was trapped between her ear and her shoulder in order to answer another email that just popped up. 

_ “Great! That’ll be fun then. You want me to meet you there or carpool together?” _

“Uh, I think I might just have to meet you guys there. I have a thing right before that, but I shouldn’t be too late.” 

_ “Alright. Sounds good to me. See you then!  _ _  
_

_  
_ The call ended, and she placed her phone back down. It was only Wednesday after all. Two days until Friday and the start of the weekend. Not that she had much to look forward to, really. It was about a 96% chance she would be needed in the office then too. 

_ One day at a time Dany.  _

_____ 

It was finally Friday afternoon, and in a couple hours, she’d be leaving to get ready. Except first, she needed to finish typing up this report she needed to present in a meeting. 

_ Just a couple more…. And done!  _

She got up, quickly skimmed through her report and nodded. It was about as good as it would get she supposed. Dany got up from her chair and left her office, bringing her laptop and a few documents she would need. She made her way to the elevator, pressing the button that signalled to take her down to the floor one below her. She would soon be free to go home and rest, or in her case, go out. All she had to do was get this meeting over with. 

  
  
  


2 hours later, it took all Dany had not to scream out of joy that the meeting was finally done and over with. The people had brought up some very good points, but she felt as if the entire subject around them were just circulating and repeating, not really getting anywhere. It was no matter though. She was free to go home and get ready. When she glanced at the clock on the far side of the room, near the elevator, it was almost 7:00 pm, which left her just barely enough time to drive home, get ready, and drive to the bar. Dany quickly walked to her office, filing things away and putting items in their designated positions, whether in her bag, case, or her desk. Once everything was put away, Dany took her case and purse, making her way to the elevator, and after that, to her car. 

Her workplace wasn’t too far away from her apartment, about 10 minutes or so, give or take a few minutes. Luckily, most rush hour traffic was over, and she wasn’t held up by traffic and too many cars. She pulled into her complex’s parking lot, finding a space and leaving her car. 

Once up to her apartment, Dany left her case next to her side of the bed and went inside her closet. She wanted to change out of her business outfit and into something more relaxed and casual. She skimmed through her clothing items until she found an outfit that worked. She pulled out a pair of ripped jeans, a cropped v-neck blouse that was red, and some heels that seemed to fit with the clothes. She changed into said chosen clothes and neatly folded her work clothes, setting them aside. Next was her makeup. She didn’t want to go too bold with it. After all, this was just a casual night out with some old (and current) friends. Lucky for Dany, her makeup was mostly done already for work, and so she only needed a few touch ups. Her lipstick color was a pink rose color that seemed to accentuate her pale complexion, along with her hair. She didn’t have much eyeshadow on, letting her eyeliner and mascara do most of the work. Her eyes, of course, really didn’t need much more  _ ‘pop’  _ to it, seeing as it was such a rare and unique color. Her silvery-blonde hair was already wavy thanks to her chosen hairstyle when she got ready for work this morning. 

Dany took a step back from the mirror, taking a look at herself. She looked pretty well put together if she had to be honest. When she checked the time, it was 7:26. She was definitely going to be a bit late. She had already told Missy though, and she knew her friend would inform Robb and Margaery for her. However, she couldn’t be overly late, or that’d just make her a flaky person, and she hated those types of people. 

When Dany finally got to the bar, she noticed a good amount of cars parked outside, and more people inside. She smiled and thanked the person who held the door open for her as they walked out.  _ Where are they? _ She thought. She didn’t want to look stupid standing at the front entrance and looking around. It made it even harder as she tried to ignore the looks people, more specifically,  _ guys  _ were throwing in her direction. 

“Dany! Over here!” Her attention was caught when she heard her name. She looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Missy waving a hand at her. Dany smiled, walking to her friends. They managed to snag a booth to themselves. Robb and Margaery sat next to each other on one side, while Missy had saved a spot for Dany next to her. 

“Hi, I’m so sorry I’m late. I got caught up with a meeting.” She explained, sliding into the booth next to Missy. Robb dismissed her apology with a wave. 

“Ah, no worries Dany. We weren’t waiting too long.” 

Dany had noticed that the three of them had already ordered and gotten their drinks. She looked through what they offered before settling on what she wanted. A waiter had stopped by them just as she placed the drink menu. 

“What can I getcha to drink pretty one?” The man asked. His accent was rough and heavy, but definitely northern. He was a big man, with a long bear that matched his ginger hair. 

Dany smiled at him. “Just a mojito please.” 

“You got it. I’ll be right back.” He flashed her a wink and left to her order of her drink. Dany looked after him, confused. Her attention was brought back to Robb, who asked her a question. 

“So, Dany, what have you been up to the past 8 years? Gods it’s been so long since high school, I never realized.” He took a sip out of his beer, looking at her with curiosity. 

“Well, after high school, I moved to Dragonstone and studied business and law there for college. Picked up a few things here and there like High Valyrian, and some Dothraki. Got my degree there too. I graduated a year early somehow. I took a gap year after that to Meereen because I felt like I badly needed a break. It was really nice there. Much warmer than Winterfell. But it’s definitely good to be back home where I grew up. I moved back here just several months ago after I received a job offer in one of the law firms here.” Dany stopped to think for a moment. “I haven’t been up to much. At least, nothing too crazy,” she chuckled. 

“A gap year sounds fun. My grandmother didn’t allow me one, said I needed to ‘get started as soon as possible,’” Margaery said, her voice taking on a different tone as she tried to copy what was probably her grandmother’s voice. Dany chuckled at her imitation. 

“Oh yeah, it was definitely fun. Meereen had so much to offer. The history, the culture, the food, the people. It was refreshing to see a different kind of world.” Dany explained. 

Robb nodded, before taking on a light smirk. “So you meet anyone there? Or perhaps you’re seeing someone already?” 

Dany gave him a small smile. “Yeah actually. I met someone there. His name’s Daario. We’re-uh, we’re actually engaged.”    


  
Robb’s eyes widened as he looked like he struggled to swallow his beer down his throat. “Really? Wow, that’s-that’s amazing Dany. Congratulations! How long’s it been with him?” 

“Well, I met him in Meereen in my gap year obviously. Beginning of last year I’m pretty sure. We started dating and he came with me when I got the job offer here in Winterfell. He proposed about a week or so ago. So it’s been about a little over a year with him.” 

“What does he do?” 

“He found a job here as a police officer actually. He had some background in law enforcement and served in Essos for some time.” She explained his work life. 

“That’s really great. I’m glad you found someone.” 

Dany smiled again, then turned the conversation around to him. “So how have you been? What’ve you been up to since I left?”    


  
Robb humorously rubbed his hands together as if he was about to tell them some scary story. Dany could tell the beer was slowly making its way through his system. “Well since you asked. I stayed here in Winterfell and studied in college here, but also worked and studied closely next to my dad. Jon too, since we were both preparing to take his position together. Anyways, we studied together, and somewhere in there I met Marge right here. She was absolutely in love with me the moment she laid eyes on me. Anyways, we started dating in college, and she took over her grandmother’s company, and Jon and I took over our dad’s. Now, we’re all young CEOs and leaders of big time businesses. I think that’s it.” 

Margaery stared at Robb once he mentioned her name. She had raised a brow at him as he continued explaining, patiently waiting for him to finish. Once he did, she spoke up. “Actually, I’m pretty sure that it was  _ you  _ who fell in love when you saw me again,” she fake rolled her eyes at her husband and turned to Dany and Missy. “He loves to say that it was me who fell first, but don’t believe him.” Dany and Missy chuckled at the couple. 

“No, I think that was you babe.” He looked to Dany and whispered “ _ It was totally her.”  _

Margaery had seen what he said and slapped his arm lightly. “Okay Romeo. You wanna bet? Cause I’m pretty sure Jon was right next to you when you saw and met me. Actually, I think he was also trying to drag you away but you just wouldn’t let go.” 

Dany watched in amusement at the couple’s light bantering. It was something that she dearly missed in her own relationship. Not that she would ever voice it out loud. But there was also something else that caught her attention too as Robb and Margaery had spoken. The mention and the name of her ex boyfriend. Granted, high school ex boyfriend, but a guy who was her boyfriend at some point in her life. 

She leaned towards them as they turned their attentions back to Dany. “You mentioned Jon. Gods, it’s really been a long time. How is he?”    


  
She genuinely felt curious as to how he was. It’d been eight years since she’d been in contact with Robb, Jon, or any other of their family members. 

Robb seemed to brighten up for some reason. “Oh, he’s doing great. Very dedicated to his job. He bought a condo a while back, and a dog. Actually, he found six puppies once while he was out running, and they didn’t have owners. So Jon being Jon, he took them to the vet, and then gave each one of us a puppy. Now we have 6 huge monsters each. Alaskan Malamutes they are. Bit of a handful. But extremely loyal and lovable creatures. Anyways, Jon is doing pretty good. Still a bit of a grump, but I don’t think anything can change that.” 

Dany nodded as she listened intently to Robb explaining his brother’s life right now. She was glad he was doing good. It had definitely been a while, but she remembered. She also remembered her college self trying her best to forget about him. When she’d move to Dragonstone with Missy, all she could think about was  _ Jon, Jon Jon.  _ It took her awhile to get herself to stop thinking about him 24/7, but with college and studying to become a lawyer, Dany’s thoughts had to be placed elsewhere, as well as her priorities. Now it wasn’t to say that her college love life had been affected. Oh, it definitely took a big hit. She had tried her best to avoid the advancements made to her in college by the male gender. She had found it in her heart to forgive and forget, whatever she could. What he had done to her then had cut pretty deeply, but eventually, old wounds had to heal, and they did. But something in college had changed her. She didn’t want to be weighed down by her past anymore. She didn’t want to regret the losses she had suffered and endured every single day of her life. Of course she would honor the memory of her family and her Uncle. They would be in her heart forever. But it was time she accepted their absence and moved on, knowing they would all want to see her do so. It had definitely been hard at first, but she had some help. The same had gone for her past relationships. Of course, because of Drogo, Dany was always wary and alert with how other men would treat her. And because of Jon, she was always wary of what other men’s intentions to her were. But past mistakes were in the past. Dany didn’t know though whether Drogo’s abuse was even forgivable. However, she had found it in her heart to forgive Jon from afar. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew he probably did really love her then, and he always treated her well. But it was back then. She'd managed to make herself move on, and she found Daario.  _ If I look back, I am lost.  _ She had a future to look ahead to. 

Her long train of thoughts were interrupted when her drink order finally came after a while of waiting. The big, ginger man gave her her drink, winking to her again as he did before. 

“Here ya go! Sorry it took a while. Lots of people in tonight, yeah Robb?” He looked to Robb, who nodded. Dany looked between the two men. They seemed to be quite familiar with each other. Good friends, perhaps? 

“Say, Robb. I’ve never seen this one come in before and I've been working here a long time.” He gestured his head over to Dany. He wondered why he didn’t mention Missy. Maybe she’d gone here with Grey a few times before. 

“Oh, well. Tormund, this is Dany, one of my old friends from high school. Dany, this is Tormund. He owns  _ Free Folk’s Arrow.  _ I actually know him through Jon. He and Jon are good friends.” Robb introduced them to each other and explained. Dany nodded, holding her hand out on instinct to shake his hand. He looked at her hand, confused for a moment, but took the memo and shook her hand. His huge hand seemed to swallow up and make her much smaller hands in comparison disappear. 

“Nice to meet you.” She said as they shook hands. Then, he pulled away from her, and placed his hands on his knees, looking-  _ studying- _ her for a long minute. Dany sat uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze. It didn’t feel like he was checking her out, but more like looking for something.  _ Is there something on my face?  _

“Pretty little one. You look like a fairy. Southerner I take it?” He finished his observing and stood back up, crossing his large arms together over his chest. 

“Kind of. I was born in the South, but I grew up here in Winterfell actually,” Dany casually explained to him. He looked surprised when she said so. 

“A Northerner? Hm, well Dany,” he started. His rough accent on her name almost sounded mispronounced, but Dany didn’t bother correcting him.  _ Close enough I guess.  _ She looked at Tormund who still looked at her with a strange look in his eyes. “You’re a Northerner. Every Northerner is tough. You might be small, but you look tough.” 

Dany gave him a weird smile. “Thank you?” She didn’t know what he was trying to get at. But he seemed friendly enough. A bit blunt and random, but friendly, which was quite nice. He bellowed a laugh, one that almost scared her as his voice was so loud and deep. 

“Yes, small but tough. You know Jon, yes? Have you met him? Has she met him Robb? Little crow’s small, but he’s one of the toughest men I know. And I know a lot. You look perfect for him! You should meet him one day. I can introduce you. You’d be perfect for each other!” Tormund laughed again, and Dany stared at him wide eyed. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to tell him otherwise. Robb seemed to sense it though, and stooped in. 

“Actually, Tormund. They do know each other. They have a bit of a,  _ how do I say this _ , bit of a history together. Back in high school, a long time ago. And she’s engaged to someone else.” 

Tormund looked to Dany, his face almost comically shocked and crestfallen that Dany had to suppress a laugh. He opened his mouth to speak, but just then, another customer had waved him over on the opposite side of them. He gave Dany one last look before walking away and said. 

“You’re missing out little fairy.” 

Once he left, the group of four burst into laughter at the awkward interaction they just had. 

“That’s Tormund for ya. He’s been trying to play matchmaker for Jon recently, so it would explain why he’s like that. He’s a funny guy though. Just random and blunt as can be.” Robb explained to her. Dany nodded, taking a sip of her drink. That explained why. Although she was half tempted to discuss Tormund playing ‘matchmaker’ for Jon and whether or not Jon had found someone, she stayed quiet, enjoying her drink. 

There seemed to be a malfunction to her outfit, her long sleeved blouse in particular, when she noticed Robb’s eyes flittering to her left wrist and he frowned. Dany quickly set her drink down, smiling as she placed her hands in her lap, under the table where no one could see. She tugged on her sleeves, tugging them down until they reached the beginning of her hands.  _ He noticed.  _ Dany acted as though nothing had happened, and they carried on with their night. 

“Uh, so Missandei, anything interesting with you?” Robb turned to her friend next to her, and she gave a small sigh of relief that his attention was off of her. Hopefully he would forget what he saw and not tell his brother about it. Although, if Robb and Jon were still as close as they were in high school as she could remember, then there was a high chance that Jon would be hearing about how everything went tonight.  _ Shit. Please Robb, don’t exaggerate anything to him.  _

“Nothing too interesting, I don’t think. I went to Uni with Dany. Uh, you remember my boyfriend, Grey Nudho, right?” Missy asked. Robb thought about it, then nodded. 

“Yeah I remember him. Co-captain of the football team before. I met him a couple times.” 

“Yeah, well we had to do long distance because of college. He went to Astapor for college. It definitely wasn’t easy, and there were times I thought it would be best if we just ended things, but we pulled through. He moved back, and next thing I know, we’ve moved in together and he proposed to me. Oh and I studied liberal arts in college, and I teach 6th grade here.” 

Dany smiled sappily as her best friend explained the story of her and her boyfriend-  _ husband, _ now. Robb and Margaery seemed to melt with the story as well. 

“Really? Props to you then Missandei! To a successful high school sweetheart story!” Margaery raised her glass of her drink, and the three followed her, clinking their glasses together and drank in cheers of Missandei and Grey. She remembered how tough it was for them. Or at least for Missandei during college. Long distance was never easy with any couple, but they always made plans to meet in person whenever they had school breaks that lined up with each other. Dany loved being there and watching as the couple reunited. She had always tried her best to swallow down her own bitter feelings and the same thought each time she saw Grey tightly embrace Missy. 

_ ‘That could’ve been us…’ _

But that was college. 

And now, Dany was as content as she thought she could be, smiling and laughing as Robb told some stupid joke that had her and Missy cracking up, and Margaery rolling her eyes. 

In a joking manner, Dany spoke. “Margaery, you have to deal with this everyday?” The girls laughed as Robb pretended to be offended. 

“Oh yeah. This jokester never stops. And call me Marge. Margaery is way too long. I think we're friendly enough with each other for that.” Margaery-  _ Marge-  _ insisted. 

“Then Dany is quite fine.” Dany also insisted.

“And Missy too!” Missy piped in, exchanging their prefered nicknames with each other. 

“Just Robb, ladies.” Robb also added in, causing everyone at the table to start laughing again. 

“Robb, is that your full name, or is it short for something else?” Missy asked him, her curiosity apparent. 

“Nah, it’s just Robb. I used to say it was short for Robbert, but then I remember my dad once had a drunk friend named Robert. Our entire family hated it when he came over. Then one day, he just stopped coming over, and I figured my dad had split it with him.” Robb gave them a little explanation. It seemed not even Margaery knew this story. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to put a damper on things.” He apologized, cringing at himself. 

“No it’s alright. We’re all here to catch up on each other’s lives.” Dany dismissed the apology, not wanting him to feel bad. Marge and Missy also nodded, agreeing with Dany’s statements. 

“Anyways, Robb, how’s your family been?” Dany inquired, eager to find out. She always had a special place in her heart for the Stark family, despite not seeing them for such a long time. She suddenly regretted not keeping in touch with at least one of them. 

“They’ve been good. Mom and Dad are still working hard since they have no plans on retiring anytime soon. Dad still checks in and works with me and Jon from time to time, but it’s mostly just us two. Sansa’s still in college, so is Arya. Sansa’s also studying law actually.” Robb looked pointedly at Dany, who perked up excitedly. 

“Really? That’s so good!” 

“Yeah, I think she’s pretty good at it.” Robb said with brotherly pride.   


  
“Well, now that I’m back in Winterfell, maybe she and I can catch up some time.” The prospect excited Dany. She was ever passionate about her job and choice in college majors. 

“I think she’d love that. I’ll talk to her about it. Anyways, Arya is studying martial arts since she wants to teach it someday. But she had to move to Braavos for that, since Winterfell’s colleges don’t offer that as a major. Bran also just graduated high school. He’s chosen history for his major in college. And little Rickon is, well, still in high school.” 

Dany smiled wistfully as he explained what each of his siblings were up to now. She remembered how young they were before, Sansa a young lady, Arya a young teenager, and Bran and Rickon as the babies of their family. But it made Dany happy to hear that they were all doing good. Maybe one of these days she could meet up with at least one of them again. 

The night continued on, the four friends drinking and sharing their life stories with each other with plenty of laughter in between. 

_____ 

A few days later, on a Tuesday, Dany found herself growing hungry. And also a tad annoyed. She and Daario had agreed to meet together for lunch, and they would eat at this really good cafe restaurant that Dany remembered from before. But just a few minutes ago, Daario had texted her that he was needed for a patrol shift in the downtown area, and that he couldn’t make it to lunch with her today, and most likely dinner. It had annoyed her because it was the third time in the past few days he had skipped out on lunch  _ and _ dinner with her. Come to think of it, the last time they had a proper sit down meal with each other was the take out Pentoshi. 

Dany’s stomach grumbled again, and she shut her laptop, albeit slightly harsher than she had intended. It looks like she’s eating by herself once again. 

It took her a total of about 20 minutes or so to get her stuff together and drive over to the cafe for lunch. Once she got there, she smiled to herself. 

_ Hot Pie’s Bakery  _

When she walked inside, she was greeted by the familiar rich and sweet smell of the food that seemed to unlock memories and give her a sense of nostalgia. Not a single thing had changed from what she could remember. The only thing that had was the amount of people coming in and out and staying to eat. The bakery had gotten significantly more popular, which meant that the amount of seats open for her were very few. In fact, as she scanned the room, only one spot remained open, other than the outside seating options. It was a little colder than she would have liked today, so she really didn’t feel like sitting outside. Dany went straight to the open seats to claim her spot before someone could take it. Now the problem of having to leave her spot and go in line and order her food. She didn’t want to risk leaving her bag on the table for anyone to come run and steal behind her back. Dany groaned, she had no option but to just hope no one else would take it. 

Luckily, the line wasn’t too much of a wait. She had gotten to the front of the line in little time. It wasn’t Hot Pie personally who took her order, but she knew the boy was probably somewhere in the back kitchens, as she heard his voice above the others. Dany took her receipt and stepped out of the line, letting the person behind her give their order. 

She walked back to the empty table she left, but stopped in her tracks, groaning inwardly. Someone had taken her seat. Shit. Where was she supposed to sit now? Dany looked at the person occupying her desired table. A man, she concluded. Maybe he’d give her her seat back if she explained and asked nicely. He looked nice enough, from his side view. He had glasses perched on his tall nose that slid down every now and then as he looked down on his phone. From this angle, she could see a white t-shirt hidden underneath a black denim jacket. He had inky black hair that was really curly, and long enough that he had to tie it into a sort of bun, though a few curly stragglers had escaped the tie and laid loose around his face. Sure Dany wasn’t single, but that didn’t mean she was blind.  _ No, what are you talking about Daenerys?! You’re admiring some guy who took your seat based on his side profile?!  _

She shook away her admiring thoughts, and stood up straighter, squaring her back. She’ll tell this man that she found this seat first, and if it goes well, he’ll leave and find somewhere to sit outside. She walked over and cleared her throat. 

“Excuse me? I’m sorry but I already took this table. I just had to get in the line and I didn’t want to leave my bag so-” 

She paused, mid sentence, her mouth hanging agape from the words that had disappeared from her brain. Pretty side-view man looked equally as shocked as her, his  _ familiar _ eyes widening. Dany leaned in ever so slightly and narrowed her eyes at him.  _ It couldn’t be…  _

“Jon?”   


  
“Dany.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think now I'm just way too cautious of what the feedback to each chapter is gonna be and that sucks :( thank you so much again who are still sticking with me and supporting me through this, it means a lot to me even if I can't respond to every single one of you! 
> 
> once again, I just wanted to say, I'm a human with feelings just like every single one of you reading this. if someone were to say the things to you that many have said to me, it would hurt. please keep that in mind when commenting. and maybe I'm being a bit sensitive about this, but really, there's no need for such negativity. especially not now. especially when you don't know who's behind the screen and what they're going through. I've decided that while you are all free to comment whatever you wish, I still have to approve. any other comments that come in to shade on chapter 21 and/or complain about it will be unapproved and deleted. as well as any arguments. I've also said multiple times I made many mistakes in regards to writing that chapter that I personally think I should not have done, I don't need more people to tell me the exact same thing I'm already thinking.
> 
> one last thing, for those of you worried about how the rest of this story is going to turn out, there are very small hints throughout the chapters with Dany in regards to Daario. It would take some inferring and brain power though. If some of you guys are able to create theories based on GRRM's 'ASOIAF' books and the thousands of pages (altogether) of different characters and dialogue, I don't think it should be too hard to see what direction I'm taking this dreaded ship into. That's if you've been paying very close attention, or are just really good with that kind of stuff. I know it may not be super clear to many just yet.


	24. I was doin' just fine before I met you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany meet again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm a bit late in updating since I skipped last week. My mind has been a jumbled mess lately and I was kind of in a dark spot the past few days. I think this quarantine is getting to me, all the work that's being thrown to me just feels overwhelming along with being cooped up inside all.day.long, but I can only blame myself for that. I'm trying my best to balance things out. I was going to post this chapter sometime tomorrow after I reread it and edit it for the 6 millionth time but I realized nothing was going to change much.
> 
> I was also having some trouble writing this chapter out, so uh,,
> 
> enjoy this yucky thing :)

When Jon walked into the bakery, he’d managed to snag the only available table left. He sat down, but realized he needed to get up and fall in line to order something. But if he did, someone would only come and take his spot. It didn’t help that he left his coat in his office when he left for lunch so he couldn’t really sit outside. It was too cold for a Spring afternoon, but then again, Winterfell was never known for its perfect temperatures. Jon pulled out his phone, scrolling through his unanswered text messages and emails while he waited for the line to die down so he could quickly order and go back to his seat. It was probably 5 minutes in when he heard someone talking. 

“Excuse me? I’m sorry but I already took this table. I just had to get in the line and I didn’t want to leave my bag so-” 

_ Wait.  _ Jon stopped in his tracks and looked up, the voice incredibly familiar yet a bit fuzzy to his memory in regards to whose voice it belonged to. He felt his own eyes widening once he lifted his face to meet the violet orbs that he knew only  _ one  _ person he’s ever met could ever have. And it seemed she too, thought the same of him. 

  
  


“Jon?”   
  


  
“Dany.” 

  
  


He didn’t need to ask. He knew it was her. From the feminine lift of her voice, to her still bright silver blonde hair, and the eyes. It couldn’t possibly be anyone other than Daenerys Targaryen. He cursed his man brain for instantly making note of how she looked. And  _ boy,  _ did she look good. Time had done her incredibly well. She was wearing a white blouse tucked into a long, black pencil skirt that only seemed to hug her soft curves. Her petite stature didn’t seem to change that much when he stood from the table to meet her. But there was definitely a change in the way she carried herself. He couldn’t explain it, but he could feel it surrounding her. 

He didn’t know what to say, if there was anything to even say at all. Thankfully, she managed to shake herself out of their shared shockness first. 

“I’m-I’m so sorry! That was so rude of me. Gods, I didn’t even know it was you at first. I didn’t expect to run into you here.” Dany said. She narrowed her eyes at him again, and he wondered if she was thinking whether he was really there or not. 

“Ah-uh, no, there’s no need to apologize. I’m just as shocked as you. It’s-it’s good to see you again, Daenerys.” Jon managed to stammer out. It caught up to him how awkward this situation was. Two ex lovers who had once loved each other dearly but were torn apart (his own doing). Dany- _ Daenerys _ , he decided to call her. Dany was a nickname for those close to her, and besides, he didn’t feel like he had the right to call her that. Daenerys nodded, smiling at him, though Jon felt it was only for pleasantries.

“Oh, how-how are you doing? Or how have you been?” Jon asked her, trying to fill in the silence between them. It felt like a balloon that was slowly being inflated with air, except instead of gas, it was a balloon of awkwardness slowly filling. 

“Good, good. I’ve been good. Yeah, I’m sure Robb’s told you all about it, from our night out the other night.” He saw from his position her throat constrict and swallow.  _ Is she nervous?  _

“No actually, he didn’t. I told him it was just between you guys. But I’m glad you’re doing good. That’s great. I’m doing good as well.”  _ She didn’t even fucking ask you, you idiot. Well, I already said.  _ Daenerys nodded and smiled but did not say anything, and once again, silence filled between them. Just as Jon was about to excuse himself to go, a waitress came up behind her. 

“Excuse me, Miss? Here’s your order. Would you like me to set it on the table?” The waitress asked. Daenerys opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Jon beat her to it. 

“Uh, yes please. Just leave it right there. Thanks.” The woman did as he asked, setting the tray of Daenerys’ order down the table. Once the waitress left, she frowned at him. 

“You don’t have to. I can just take this out, you can have the table.” She offered him. 

Jon shook his head. “No, you already have your food, and I haven’t even ordered yet. Plus, you did say you had this table first. I can just order a take out.” 

“No, that wouldn’t be nice of me to send you away. What if… er, we can just share the table.” Jon squinted his eyes at her suggestion. “If you want to, that is,” she rushed to explain. “We’re already both here and it’s lunch time, so I’m assuming we’re both on our lunch breaks right now. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not spend it worrying over a table. Plus, it’s kinda cold outside. And it’d be a good time to catch up. Only if you want to. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t.” 

She looked up at him, violet eyes questioning his. She wasn’t wrong. Jon had wanted to take his lunch break outside the office for today for the sake of a different environment. It would completely defeat his purpose if he showed back up with takeout food to eat in the solitude of his office. 

“If you’re sure, then that sounds good. I just need to go order real quick.” He excused himself to order his meal and recollect his mind. 

They were both fully grown adults leading two separate lives. No longer were they two young high school teenagers making reckless decisions. That was now behind them. Perhaps it was just the thought of running into someone you never thought you’d see again that made this so awkward. He’d only heard she was back in Winterfell several days ago, but that didn’t mean he was preparing himself to see her again. But maybe this lunch could be what sets whatever drama they had still quietly lingering between them aside. 

_____ 

_ What in the hell was that? _

Dany cringed as she drank a spoonful of her soup. Her run in with Jon could probably compete with that time in college she thought she was late for a class, only to run in and realize she had entered the wrong classroom and everyone was staring at her with barely brushed hair and backwards sweatpants. But that was more mortifying embarrassment than it was awkward. Though there was definitely some awkwardness when she walked past a few of the students from that class the next day. She was hoping to finally clear the air between them once and for all, and to forgive and forget whatever drama had happened in high school. They were two mature (hopefully) adults and it wouldn’t be right for things that happened years ago to be held as a grudge between the two of them. 

When Jon finally returned to his seat with his food tray in hand (apparently he didn’t want to come back to the table and wait for them to deliver his food to him, fair enough), she smiled, though it was more of her work smile that she put on for clients than it was a real one. He sat across from her and took his plate out of the tray to take a bite out of his sandwich. It was quiet between them for a couple minutes as they ate their food in relative peace. 

Dany took this time to  _ ‘observe’ _ how Jon had changed physically over time. Just as she’d said, she might be engaged, but the ring on her finger didn’t render her blind and stupid. 8 years did him quite well. It was obvious he’d hit the gym for some time, perhaps even now still. His arms were noticeably bigger due to the way the sleeves of his shirt hugged his skin, the muscle definition quite obvious. His face also had a distinct chisel to it despite the beard he was now sporting (which definitely served to make him look that much better). On his face was also a scar that started above his left eye and ended just below it. Dany made a mental note to herself to ask him how he’d gotten that at some point. His hair was still its same curly, black mess, though there was definitely a bit more volume and length to it from what she could last remember. The glasses perched on his nose brought the whole look together. Overall, she thought he looked very good.

She’d taken care to pull the sleeves of her blouse down. The last thing she wanted was for him to notice and look at her weirdly for still having the tattoo on. She would definitely be surprised if he had kept his, though the likelihood of that was quite low in her eyes. 

His northern accent was much more prominent now than it had been before, which both surprised her and made her smile. His gruff accent definitely matched his face. As she watched him eat, he looked like he was in deep concentration and thinking about something really hard. It was hard to distinguish whether or not he was really thinking of something or if that’s just how he usually looked. 

When Dany finally had enough of the silence (and her food), she pushed her tray and bowl away, getting his attention. 

“I know you kind of already answered it, but how are you? Like, how are you really?” Dany inquired from him. She really was interested in hearing how he’s been from  _ his  _ perspective, not Robb’s. “Robb told me you were doing good, but I just want to hear it from you. How are you?”    


  
Jon smiled at her as he set aside his own tray that held his empty plate where his food once was. “I’ve been doing good actually, so Robb wasn’t too far off. I’m sure he’s already said pretty much everything there is about me.” 

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t know. How’s your job as CEO of the top business in the North?” Dany asked, a teasing lift in her voice as she did. 

“It’s going as well as it can I guess. Definitely hard work at times, but there are some rewarding aspects to it. I mean, I am my own boss so there’s that. In general, I enjoy it. But it’s still kind of hard to get used to so many people looking up to you to make all the hard and final decisions and lead the company in the right direction. Thankfully I’m not the only one.”

Dany nodded as she listened to Jon explain. She understood where he was coming from in regards to having so many people look up to your lead. Though she definitely wasn’t her own boss or CEO of a huge company, she still managed to land herself in a high position in her law firm despite it being her first official year in a job. If she counted correctly, Dany assumed Jon was also in his first year of working. Taking on such important and high positions was definitely stressful, and even though they were adults, it didn’t mean they knew how to do everything or the solution to all the problems. 

“That’s pretty much it for my work life. What about you? I heard you’ve made it pretty well as a corporate lawyer. I never knew you were leaning towards law. I’m sure you’re great at it though.” 

“I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what I wanted to be, but I knew the law field was definitely interesting. I actually took business as my major in uni,” Dany smiled as she mentioned it. “Corporate law seemed like the best option for me. Now I work at Forrester and Manderly as an income partner.”    
  


Jon seemed impressed with her, and Dany couldn’t help but blush. Although she was usually quite proud of herself for making it so high up, she felt quite bashful instead. 

“You really did well for yourself. I want to be surprised, but I really don’t think I am. I always knew you’d be successful. Anybody could see it.” They shared a smile, and Dany forced herself to take pride in Jon’s praise. However, the moment was cut short when they grew quiet again, not knowing how else to continue the conversation. Dany mentally scrambled for something to talk about to fill the silence. 

“Uh, so Robb mentioned you guys all got dogs, courtesy to you. How’d that happen?” 

It seemed that at the mention of his dog, Jon immediately perked up. “I was out on a run one morning and I went past this empty alleyway. I heard all this crying and whimpering and at first, I thought it was a kid or something. So I went to check it out and I saw this box just laying there. It was taped shut, but it looked like something on the inside was moving it. When I opened it, six puppies popped out. It didn’t feel right to just leave them there by themselves, I mean, what if they got out and got hit by a car or something? So I took them to a vet.” 

She paused him right there. “Hang on, so you were running past an old alleyway and heard crying and thought it was a child and decided to check it out?” Dany asked him incredulously. 

“Aye.” He answered, nonchalant. 

“Did it ever occur to you that someone bad could’ve been waiting there for someone to take the bait? I mean, you could’ve been kidnapped, or even killed!” 

Jon thought about it for a moment. “Huh. I never actually thought about that.”    


  
Dany rolled her eyes at him, not knowing whether to call him careless and stupid for not thinking about it, or brave and kind for his first thought was to make sure a child was not harmed. She decided to stay quiet, letting him continue his little story.

“Anyways, they were mostly healthy, but needed to get all their vaccinations and such. They were also too young to be adopted so they kept them there at the clinic until they were of age. I’m not really sure what possessed me that day, but once they were finally old enough, I drove straight there to adopt them. I adopted them all for each of my siblings, and kept one for myself. They’re Alaskan Malamutes, so they grew up to be huge monsters, but they’re very sweet. Well, most of the time. The one I kept, I named him Ghost. It made sense since he’s an albino dog. All white and red eyes. And super quiet. You wanna see him?” 

Dany quickly nodded. “Of course.” She loved all animals, and could never really decide whether she was more of a cat or dog person. Dany loved them both equally in her eyes. When she had brought up perhaps adopting a dog to Daario, he had shook his head. He said dogs were too high maintenance and they both worked too busy of schedules to find time to take care of one. He had also mentioned something of how he wasn’t too fond of having pets, simply because they can be too pesky and hard to clean up after. There was also the fact that they had chosen an apartment that didn’t allow pets. It had made Dany sad, as she had always dreamed of owning a pet that you could actually play and spend time with. The only pet she’s ever had in her life was her pet fish that Rhaegar had won for her at a carnival a long time ago. If she remembered correctly, the same fish had died within 4 weeks of living in their house. Little Dany was devastated back then. 

Jon pulled out his phone, typing in his password before going to his photos. He turned the phone around to show her the picture of his dog. 

“Oh, he’s gorgeous!” Dany exclaimed, admiring the adorable picture of Jon’s dog. The all-white dog was seated on what was presumably Jon’s bed, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as he tilted his head to look at the camera. Beside him, there looked to be a dog toy covered in the dog’s slob, sitting on Jon’s bed. 

“Don’t let him hear you say that. He acts like a spoiled child sometimes.” Jon chuckled as he pulled his phone back and clicked out of it. 

“Maybe that’s because  _ someone  _ might be treating him like one.” Dany smirked as she leaned the side of her chin on her hand. 

“You think I spoil my dog?”    


  
“Oh please, I can definitely see you as more of a pet parent than an actual owner.” 

Jon fake frowned, though he frowned enough for it to not look so fake. “I’m offended you’d say that. I discipline my dog very well actually. I don’t spoil him at all.” 

Dany stared Jon down, raising an eyebrow to challenge him. “I’m sure he eats better than you on most nights.”    
  
He opened his mouth to say something, but when nothing came out, Dany laughed, knowing she had won. Jon chuckled himself, putting his phone back into his pocket as he shook his head. 

“That doesn’t prove anything.” He argued.   


  
Dany countered back. “Actually, it proves a lot of things.” 

“Okay, so maybe I feed him well. I kind of have to. Alaskan Malamutes need to be fed well.” 

“Mm, alright then.”    


  
“I’m being serious here. You can come over and see for yourself, he is not actually spoiled.”    
  


Dany paused as Jon froze at his own suggestion. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head, and Dany had a faint idea as to what he was thinking at the moment. 

“That was… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-that came out wrong.” He exhaled, laughing. Though it sounded more like a self-deprecating one. 

“It’s alright,” Dany dismissed. The silence came back once again.  _ Okay, this needs to be dealt with.  _

“I’m just gonna come right out and say this,” Dany started. Jon looked back up, eyes wide in curiosity.

“I know that this,” she made a gesture between them, “is awkward and weird. We didn’t exactly leave off on the right terms. I’m sorry about that whole thing back then. But I really do hope we can put that drama behind us and just start over. Since I’m back in Winterfell and I’m handling the merging for your company, I think it’d be safe to assume that we’ll be seeing each other a lot more. I don’t want this to be weird anymore. Seeing as we’re adults, I think that would be the right step to take.”    


  
Jon nodded. “Yeah, yeah I get that. I think you’re right… I guess I just wasn’t expecting you to forgive me for that whole thing back then, or whatever.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. 

Dany shook her head, disagreeing with him. “I think I forgave you a while ago. Just never really worked up the courage to contact you again, and then life happened, and, well, you know.” 

She looked up to see him giving her a grateful smile, one which she returned. It felt nice to clear things up with him. 

“So, do you have any pets of your own?” Jon started, changing the subject of their conversation, which she was happy to do. 

“Sadly, no. I really want one though. My complex doesn’t allow pets, and my boyfriend isn’t really fond of them. So no pets for me.” Dany’s mouth twisted almost into a pout as she told him. 

“Boyfriend?” He asked, seeming surprised. 

“Yeah, or  fiancé, whichever one I guess.” 

It was then that she noticed his eyes flicker down to the ring she wore on her left hand. She was about to ask him whether or not Robb had told him when she remembered that he didn’t. 

“I guess congratulations are in order. When is it?” He sat up straighter, looking a little stiff in his seat. 

“When is what?”   


  
“The wedding?”    


  
“Oh! I don’t actually know yet. He just proposed like a week ago, we’ve been too busy to start planning. I was thinking of bringing it up to him like tonight or tomorrow though. What about you? Does Ghost have a mommy?” She asked, trying to sound as teasing and light as possible to prevent the subject from taking a different turn. 

Jon flashed a brief smile that disappeared as quickly as it did come on. “Nope. Just me and him. I had a girlfriend a while back, but things didn’t end very well. I felt like I was too busy for a relationship anyways. Still trying to learn all there is to owning a company. Ghost is all I need. He’s a little bit too much though sometimes, so there’s that.”    
  
Dany chuckled, but she understood, though it was on the tip of her tongue to ask what happened between him and his girlfriend. However, it didn’t seem like the wisest option to question him on that, so she kept her mouth shut. 

She glanced at her phone to check the time. “I have to head back to the office now,” she looked up at him apologetically. He also took a peek at his watch for the time. 

“I do too. This was nice though.” He said as he pulled his wallet out to take some cash, leaving it on the table as a tip. 

“I agree. It’d be great to meet up again some time.” They both stood up from their seats and made their way to walk out the door. He held the door open for her, and she thanked him as she walked out. Just as they were about to part ways, Dany remembered. “Oh, hey, before I forget, we should exchange numbers. Just to keep in contact, y’know? And I’ll probably need to contact you and Robb soon for business purposes.” 

Jon nodded and pulled out his phone, punching in his password again. “Right. Here you go.”    


  
She handed him her phone, typing in her name and number. When they gave each other their phones back, she smiled at him. “I’ll see you around then Jon.”    


  
“You as well Daenerys.”    


  
She looked down to close the tab out of her phone, when she caught sight of his contact. 

_ Jon Snow ;)  _

Dany snorted, rolling her eyes at it, then turned her phone off and made her way back to her car, smiling. 

_____

It was near evening when Jon finally allowed himself to reflect on his meeting-  _ run in _ , with Daenerys earlier that afternoon. Awkward was definitely one word to describe the whole thing, at least in the beginning. They’d manage to bumble their way through a conversation until they finally found some common ground on a subject. Which turned out to be his dog. They were actually exchanging words pretty easily until he made a stupid decision asking her to come over to his place, In all honesty, it just slid out of his mouth without even processing through his brain. In his head, it sounded way better, and much more joking-like. But he knew the intention was missed when he saw her face freeze. It didn’t help that her reply to his next question had brought up the topic of her boyfriend.  _ Fiancé.  _

He shouldn’t be surprised. He truly shouldn’t be. Daenerys was- _ is- _ a beautiful woman with such high intelligence. Not only that, but many other qualities and traits that made her  _ her. _ Qualities he didn’t even know if they’d changed or not. She was clearly no longer the shy and quiet girl he’d met and fallen in love with in high school. In that girl’s place was a confident and bold woman. He almost felt proud at how far she’s come in their time apart. He had been surprised when she spoke up first about the past, and how it had been her to apologize. Thinking back to it, Jon cursed himself. She shouldn’t have been the one to apologize when she’d done nothing wrong. It should’ve been him to say sorry to her for the shit he caused them both. Instead, it’d been her to say it. Part of him wanted to bring it back up and apologize for himself, but he knew it wouldn’t have been worth it. It’s been buried in the dirt, and he didn’t want to be the one to bring it back up. 

A knock on his office door brought him back to the present as he spoke for the person to come in. It was Robb who poked his head through the door. 

“Robb, hey. I thought you were heading home already,” Jon said, sitting up in his chair to talk properly to his brother. 

“Nah, I did that last night. I’m letting you go on home early tonight.” Robb said, making his way to Jon’s desk. Jon looked at him suspiciously, wondering why Robb would let him go home first. 

“Why?” He squinted at him, to which he responded with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“I wanna give you a break.” Robb took the seat across from Jon’s desk so that the two brothers were facing each other. 

“I feel like there’s a catch. You usually go home to pick Marge up.” Jon leaned back, crossing his arms and squinting his eyes. 

“Have I been that insensitive? I’m sorry Jon.” 

“What do you want Robb?” Jon queried, eager to get this going. 

“I wanted to let you go home early this evening… and maybe tell you that Marge and I will be traveling out of town to go visit her grandmother at Highgarden in two days.” He rushed the last part.

John frowned. He was  _ leaving him? _

“How long are you gone for?” 

“2 weeks,” Robb looked at him sheepishly. 

_ Are you fucking kidding me? _

“2 weeks?” Jon asked him, incredulously. He sat up from his chair, looking annoyed at Robb. “You’re leaving me here to take care of all this for 2 weeks?” 

“Will you relax? You’ll be fine, you handled it when we went on our honeymoon.” 

“That’s because you were only gone for a few days. This is 2 weeks.” 

“You’re not gonna die Jon. And it’s not like we’re doing this to take a break. Highgarden is where the Tyrell’s main headquarters are. We gotta go meet with them to discuss the merge.” 

That was right, though Jon hated to admit it. He should’ve known, or at least remembered that they’d have to go to Highgarden at some point. He just hated the prospect of handling the company all alone for 2 weeks. It was definitely stressful to say the least, even with Robb around. 

“Well-  _ maybe  _ you won’t die.”

Jon’s head snapped up at Robb’s tone of voice. He sounded a little bit too scared for Jon’s taste. “What?”

Robb rubbed the back of his neck, cringing as he did. “Dany called earlier. I was supposed to meet with her three days from now, but… well, you know… so you’re gonna have to go instead.” 

His brother had the audacity to look apologetic. Jon only sighed, rubbing his forehead a few times.  _ Of course. Of fucking course.  _

“Jon, I’m sorry. I really am. I know it’s gonna be super awkward and weird for you and all but-” 

Jon shook his head, dismissing Robb’s apology. “No, it’s fine.” 

“It is?”   


  
Jon nodded. “We ran into each other today, at Hot Pie’s for lunch.” 

“You- … you did? Really?” He leaned forward in his chair, looking at Jon with wide eyes. “And how did that go?”    


  
“Weird. Very weird. At first. But we started talking some more and it got somewhat better.” 

Robb stayed silent for a few moments. “That must have been so damn weird. What’d you guys talk about?” 

He shrugged. “How work was going, and then Ghost.” 

“That’s it? Eight years apart and that’s all you talked about?” 

Jon suddenly felt defensive. “Well what else were we supposed to talk about?”   


  
Robb rolled his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe about what happened eight fucking years ago?” 

“We did! Or- well- kind of.” Robb looked at Jon, an eyebrow raised as if to urge him to go on. 

“We didn’t really  _ talk _ about it per say. We apologized and agreed to leave all that behind in the past. I’d like to think we’re good now.” He hoped his brother would leave it at that, but knowing Robb, he wouldn’t. 

“So you didn’t actually get a chance to explain things and  _ really  _ talk about it then?”

By now, Jon was getting exasperated. “Look, didn’t you say you were letting me leave early? Well here’s me leaving right now.” He made a show of closing his laptop and standing up. He took the jacket off his chair, letting it drape over his left arm as his other worked to get his laptop into his satchel. Once he was all packed and ready to go, he proceeded to the door. 

“Have fun in Highgarden.” Jon called out behind him to his brother who was still in his office. 

_____

Once Dany got home with her takeout dinner (Daario thankfully called to say he’d be late) she knew she needed to call Missy and tell her of what had transpired today. 

After she managed to leave the takeout bag on the counter and put her stuff away, she reached for her phone, scrolling for her friend’s number until she found it.

_ “Dany?” _

“Missy! Hey, can you talk right now?”

_ “Yeah, sure. What’s up?” _

Dany placed the phone on the counter and set it on speaker as she prepared herself some dinner. “So, something happened today at my break. And I kinda ran into someone.”    


  
_ “Who?" _

“Jon Snow.” Dany told her, smirking as she called him by his contact name. 

_ “Jon? You’re kidding. Really?!”  _

“Yeah, we did. It was weird, to say the least. But we managed to get through it, for the most part.” Her dinner was finally set, and she began eating. 

_ “So did you talk about it?”  _

Dany, knowing what she was referring to by ‘it’, nodded even though Missy couldn’t see. “Yeah. I mean, not really. Not completely.”

_ “What’s that supposed to mean?” _ _   
_

_   
_ “I just apologized for what happened. Then we agreed to leave that all in the past.”

_ “You- I’m sorry, what? You apologized? Dany, you did nothing wrong, why would you apologize?”  _

Dany rolled her eyes, chewing her food and swallowing before answering. “I didn’t necessarily apologize for what  _ he  _ did. I just said sorry for that whole mess. But the point is, we left it behind and we’re good now. At least I hope we are. I gotta meet with him in a few days to discuss some stuff.” 

_ “Oh Dany.”  _

She heard her sigh from the other side of the phone, causing her to frown. Was she doing something wrong? 

“What?”

_ “Nothing. So you’re sure everything’s fine now?” _ _   
_

_   
_ “I’d  _ like _ to think we are.” She replied, with an emphasis on the like. She hoped Jon thought the same as well.

_ “Okay, well, as long you think things are fine now. So how is he?” _

“He’s doing good.” 

_ “Is he still like the Mr. Popular we knew?”  _ Missy’s voice turned teasingly. 

“Oh, no. Definitely not. From what I’ve seen, at least, he doesn’t seem to be.” Dany smiled at how different he now seemed to be compared to before. 

  
_ “How so?”  _

“For a start, he isn’t wearing all black anymore. And he also got glasses.” 

_ “Seriously? Jon Snow with glasses? That must’ve been a sight. How’d he look with them?”  _

“He looked…” Dany paused to search for a word in mind. “Good. Not bad at all.” Cute was another word that came to mind if she was being totally, completely, one hundred percent honest with herself. Which she wasn’t. 

_ “His hair still the same?”  _

“Oh yeah. Still the same.” Dany almost laughed as she remembered how his hair seemed to be the only constant about his physical features. “He’s not at all what he was before. Granted, it’s not like any of us are now, but still. He’s also a lot less cocky.” She said, remembering how flustered and awkward he’d been in trying to converse with her. 

_ “So he’s better or worse?” _ _   
_

_   
_ “Mm, can’t say. We only talked for the first time today.” 

_ “Well you let me know once you find out. Oh! You know what would be great? If we all had a mini high school reunion. Can’t believe so many of us wound back up here in Winterfell. Call it fate or something.”  _

Dany chuckled. “I think I’ll call it a small world.”    


  
_ “Whatever you wanna call it. I think it’s way too coincidental. Anyways, I gotta go Dany, talk to you later. Fill me in when you guys talk again. Bye!”  _ _   
_

_   
_ “Bye,” Dany called out, before ending the call. 

She was nearly done with her food as she glanced at the time. She could squeeze in one more phone call before she got ready to turn in for the night. Scrolling down her list, she found the person who she was looking for. The phone rang for a bit longer than what Dany would have preferred. She was about to end the call when he picked up. 

_ “Hello?”  _ His voice panted through the speaker

“Jon?” Dany asked. He sounded a bit out of breath. “You alright?”   


  
_ “Dan- Daenerys? Is that you? Hold on.”  _

There seemed to be a small pause, and Dany imagined he pulled the phone away from him to look at the caller ID. 

_ “ _ It’s me.” She confirmed. “Are you alright?” She repeated her earlier question to him. 

_ “Aye, I’m fine. Just a- Ghost decided it was a good idea to run out the door just as I walked in so, uh. Sorry, did you need something?” _

Dany smiled at the thought of his dog giving him a hard time. Not that it meant she liked Jon having a hard time, but the idea of his dog being silly was. What could she say, dogs are just so cute. 

“I just wanted to check in with you about our meeting in a few days. I’m assuming Robb told you already?” 

_ “He did. Do you need me to bring anything?” _

“Just yourself. And preferably the due diligence papers I told Robb about the last time we met. Those would be great too. Margaery already drafted hers to me, so I’ll just need to get yours.” 

_ “I can do that. You need anything else?”  _ _   
  
_

“That should be all for now. I’ll see you then. Oh, and I hope Ghost doesn’t give you anymore trouble.” Dany added for a joke, smiling. 

Jon chuckled through the phone.  _ “Aye, I hope so too. See you then.”  _

The call ended as Dany placed her phone down on the countertop. Her dinner was all finished, so she got up to put her dish and any other trash away. Daario hadn’t mentioned when he’d be coming home, just that he was coming late, so Dany left his takeout food in the fridge just in case he was  _ too  _ late.  She had debated on watching some tv and flipping through a bridal magazine while doing so, but as she caught herself in a mid yawn, Dany thought it best to just take a shower and head to sleep. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gross right? yeah, I hated that too. probably my least favorite chapter just because of the amount of blocks I ran into trying to write this one out
> 
> bonus points to whoever could guess why Dany laughed at Jon’s contact name because that took me a minute to find lol. Also i’ve seen comments on this so just to avoid confusion, I am a female (she/her) writer :)I
> 
> I also just need to point out that this is NOT the end of Dany and Jon’s conversation of their past. It will definitely resurface again at some point.
> 
> Last thing, I've been thinking about the chapter total that this story will have. I set it at 40 as of right now, but with where I want to go with this particular story, I think the only way I would be able to make it work was if I ended this as Dany and Jon finally get together again and begin the next story as them rebuilding their relationship. It would not be anywhere near as long this fic has been, probably less than 15 chapters. I just feel like if i put it all in this fic, it’ll feel like it's dragging on. I don't know, still deciding but i think that’s where i want to go. Let me know your thoughts on that. 
> 
> kind and constructive comments are appreciated :) I'll see you guys next time, whenever I post again lol
> 
> thank you for all the lovely comments on the last one, they're so very uplifting xx <3


	25. We were just kids when we fell in love, not knowing what it was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon replaces Robb in a meeting with Dany followed with Doreah discussing a "guy" with her. Daario leaves, creating tension between him Dany.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> relatively short chappy here today :) 
> 
> I just wanna give a warning that there is a Dany and Daario scene in here. To avoid any conflict like last time, if you do not wish to read that part, please skip over the asterisks break. When you see five ‘*****’, then the scene is beginning. The scene will end when you see another five ‘*****’. Got it? I’ll give a brief summary at the end of the chapter on what happened for those who skipped it. It’s not a love scene, not like chapter 21, just some dialogue and more insight I guess you can say. If I see any comments deciding to shit on that-well, don’t. It isn’t worth your time to complain, it takes zero money and effort to decide not to comment hateful things. Plus, your comment won’t get posted anyway unless there’s something that really needs to be addressed. You’ve been warned already. So, it’s not worth it. Got it? Good. you better.
> 
> Apologies for any grammer/spelling mistakes.

Three knocks came in sounding at her door. 

“Come in,” Dany called out, making sure her papers were set straight and her desk was organized as a client came in. The door opened to reveal Jon, a brown leather satchel slung over his right shoulder and a smile in place. Dany had decided to keep things professional as they conducted business for now. 

“Jon, welcome! Please, have a seat,” she gestured to the chairs opposite her desk. He took a seat, placing his satchel on the chair next to him. She thought he looked good and very well put together in his suit. “Thank you for coming in today.” She gave him a warm smile, which was gladly returned. 

“Aye, well, it wasn’t like I had much ‘a choice.” The corner of his eyes crinkled as he joked with her, causing her own to do the same. 

“I trust you have them?” She asked him, referring to the papers she’d asked him to get from Robb. If she remembered correctly, Robb and Margaery were well gone and on their way to Highgarden by now, if they weren’t there already. 

Jon nods, reaching over and going through his satchel to take the papers out. He handed them to her in a neat file folder, which Dany took graciously with a smile and a nod. She opened the folder, nodding occasionally as she read over the details. Once she finished reading, she put the folder away to the side. 

“Alright, I think that should cover everything about that. I have some stuff here for you to look over and preferably do.” Dany told him, bending down to her file cabinet to retrieve the needed documents. She handed them over to him, to which he opened and skimmed over, before meeting her eyes with an extremely confused look. 

“I don’t- what am I supposed to do with this?” He looked back and forth between Dany and the papers in his hand. 

“That’s just a little bit of fill in work I'll need you to do while I work with your due diligence. It might take me a couple weeks to complete, so I figured I’d give those to you in advance to start looking over and begin.” 

Dany looked on as Jon studied intently the papers in his hold, his face still evidently showing his confusion, what with his pinched eyebrows and squinted stare. She secretly thought he looked kind of cute like that. But  _ secretly. _ She did feel a bit bad for him that he has to handle Robb’s part of the merge, knowing it wasn’t exactly his job to oversee it. 

Without any sort of thought process, she reached over for his hand, placing hers over his, wanting to give him some sort of comfort. That managed to get his attention from the papers. His eyes however, were just as wide, if not wider as he switched between looking at her and their conjoined hands. Dany decided to say whatever she had to say to him, trying to ignore the confused look pointed towards their hands. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought of how warm his hand was. _No_ , d _ on’t do that Dany. _

“Don’t worry so much about this. It should be pretty easy considering your company is doing pretty well from what I’ve seen so far. You got this. It’d be a lot harder if you guys weren’t doing so hot, trust me.” She gave him a friendly and warm smile to hopefully ease his nerves. She had a feeling it might get a little stressful for him to balance working the merge in Robb’s absence and doing other stuff required of him for the company. 

They shared a smile, and Dany hoped she was able to alleviate some distress in him. His smile faltered as he looked down at their hands again, to which Dany responded by frowning and retracting her hand back.  _ Way to be professional Daenerys.  _

It’s silent between them as Jon fumbles and fidgets with the folder and Dany folds her hands together on her desk, looking back and forth between it and Jon. It was on the tip of her tongue to apologize for overstepping, but he beat her to it. 

“If-” he clears his throat. “If that’s all, I think I should go now.” 

Dany nods, whether in agreement or just nodding for the sake of acknowledging him she didn’t know. Jon stood up, taking his satchel and slinging it over his shoulder the way it was when he came in. Dany stood up to walk him out her door. 

He stops just short of the entrance. “That was a lot shorter than I expected.”    


  
Dany exhales a small laugh, the corner of her lips going up just slightly as she smirks. “Oh, it’ll only get longer from here.” 

Jon dramatically sighs, throwing his head back. “Don’t know if I’m looking forward to that. But I’ll see you soon sometime.”    


  
Dany nods, opening the door for him as he leaves.  _ Soon maybe. _

Once he turned the corner of the hallway and was gone from her sight, she closed the door and made her way back to her desk. It was only a few moments later when another knock came to her door. 

“Come in.” 

The door opened to reveal Doreah, who was smirking quite evilly. It only served to make Dany slightly worried. She shut the door behind her, lightly tip toeing amusingly to the chair across Dany. 

“May I help you Doreah?” Dany asks her, eyebrows raised in amusement. She was only slightly suspicious of her at the moment. 

“I just bumped into this really hot guy in the hallway, and I’m only slightly certain he came from your office.” 

_ Oh gods, _ Dany mentally said, rolling her eyes as she already sensed where this was going. 

“Do you know him?”    


  
“He’s one of my clients. So yes, I do know him.”    


  
“Do you happen to know if he’s single?” Doreah straightened up, her face brightening up. 

Dany rolls her eyes again. “Get back to work Doreah.” 

“No, please Dany. Just tell me that at least. I just wanna know if I have a chance here, that’s all. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a proper date. Please tell me.” The girl has the audacity to even pout. Dany only raises a brow at her. 

“Dany, come on. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a guy  _ that hot _ before, and even you have to admit it.” Doreah winces for a second, but recovers quickly. “I wanna say I’m sorry about Daario, but I’m really not. Who was  _ he?  _ Whoever  _ that _ was easily beats your cop-man by miles. He even looks like a true northerner. Like, rugged and tough. Come on, you have to know  _ something  _ about him.” 

Dany only chuckles as Doreah insists on staying until she gives her some sort of answer. She really didn’t want to have to sell Jon out like that, not that she even wanted to. It certainly amused her to see her friend so interested in him. Though, she couldn’t really find it in herself to fault Doreah. Her words weren’t exactly far from the truth. And why did Doreah assume Dany would know if he was single or not if she thought he was just her client and nothing more?

“He was only in business casual clothes.” She said, trying to do her best to dissuade her. 

Doreah very nearly jumps in her seat. “But I overheard him at the front receptionist! I kid you  _ not _ when I say nearly every woman in his vicinity practically melted. He doesn’t even seem to notice all the attention. I mean, how fucking hot can he get?” 

Slightly exasperated, Dany sighs and answers firmly. “He’s single, but he isn’t looking for a relationship.” She didn’t actually know completely whether or not Jon was interested in a relationship right now, but she certainly wasn’t about to send Doreah after him. Doreah was a kind girl, if a bit too peppy and slightly flirtatious sometimes, but nice enough. However, Jon didn’t deserve that. Plus, she hated to mention it, but something ugly stirred hearing her talk about him, but Dany wasn’t about to explore that ugliness. 

Doreah practically deflates as she tells her Jon isn’t really available at the moment. Luckily for Dany, it seems to be enough to dissuade the girl. She stands up, walking to the door and opening it. But before she leaves, she turns back. 

“Hold on- how do you know that about him? Do you guys know each other personally?” She inquires.  _ And there it is.  _

Dany only gives her a hard look. “Get back to work.” 

She does, but not before suspiciously looking back at Dany. The ugly thing stirring inside Dany suddenly seems to find a voice now, and it crawls up to her as she thinks quite bitterly, much to her surprise.  _ You’re not getting him.  _

  
  
  
  


*********

After a long day at work trying to run through the things from the Stark company’s paperwork, Dany finally arrives home. Much to her (not) surprise, Daario isn’t home yet either. She sets her stuff down in her room, sliding her coat off her and draping it over the sofa. She’s pretty sure there’s still some leftover chicken in the fridge she could reheat for dinner. 

Just as she opens the fridge, the apartment door opens, and in walks a tired looking Daario. 

“Hi, you makin’ dinner?”    


  
“Just reheating. You want some?” She asks him, taking said dinner out of the fridge.

“No. I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll just head to bed.” As if to add to that, he yawns quite loudly. 

“You okay?” She calls after him, finding his actions a bit weird for some reason. 

“I’m great.” Just before he retreats to the room, he turns around, poking his head back in the kitchen. “Oh, hey, there’s something I gotta tell you.” 

Dany turns around, looking at him expectedly. 

“Me and a few other officers were chosen to lead a group of young police interns at the Castle Black Academy. It’s a two week camp, and I’m leaving in a couple of days.” 

_ What the fuck?  _ Dany narrows her eyes at him. Since when was that ever a thing? Dany was absolutely no expert in that field, but she doesn’t think she’s ever heard of a two week police intern camp before. Well, up until this moment. 

“Is Grey coming?” She knew Missandei’s husband and Daario were both working in the same station. 

He shakes his head. “No. He was chosen originally, but he needed to stay here for some reason.” 

Dany sighs, feeling extremely disappointed but even more so irritated. “When do you think we’ll actually be able to sit down and plan the wedding then?” She snaps. 

Daario seems taken aback with her snappiness. “Woah, hey calm down. I’m sorry, okay, I know I’ve been busy lately but so have you. I don’t know, maybe you and Missandei can start to figure things out first.” He casually shrugs as he suggests his quite stupid suggestion. 

Dany looks at him incredulously. “Are you kidding me? Last time I checked, I’m not engaged to  _ Missandei.” _

He chuckles at her remark, but it quickly dies down when he sees that Dany is not joking around at the moment. 

He sighs deeply. “Look, I’m sorry, okay. Maybe after I return we can start planning things. But right now, it’s just hard to do so many things at once. Please understand. You of all people should know that.”

Dany gives up the fight, realizing there was no point in it as it would be the same outcome each time no matter how much she wants to argue back. She nods stiffly, just wanting to end the conversation. She continues with her task of reheating her food, only briefly aware that Daario had left. 

*********

A couple days later, when Daario had already left for the camp, found Dany sitting in her office, a bit bored, which was extremely odd, considering her profession and line of work. There was a couple of stuff still left to be done, but she pushed them off to the side to do later. It felt like one of those things where she knew she had work to be done still, but didn’t want to do them and half trusting herself she’ll be able to get it done on time. 

She decided to fiddle with her phone, albeit not really doing much on it. Then, a thought came across her mind.  _ Oh, why not. No harm in it, right?  _

She scrolled down in her contacts, finding the person she was looking for. Before she knew it, she had already sent the message. 

_ ‘Hello!’  _

She examined it closely. There was nothing wrong about this, right? No, of course not. Just a friendly conversation with a friend. Who so happens to be her ex boyfriend.  _ Jon. _

A few seconds later, she gets a reply. 

_ ‘May I help you Ms. Targaryen?’  _

_ ‘No. Just checking in,’  _ she clarified, letting him know it wasn’t really for business purposes. 

_ ‘How nice of you to think of me’  _

Dany snorts.  _ ‘Well, it wasn’t like I was really doing much’ _

The text bubble appeared for a couple seconds, then sent his response. 

_ ‘That’s a shame. Because I am’  _

Dany frowned, cursing herself. _Of course he has work to do, idiot._ _Just because you’re bored doesn’t mean everyone else is._ But a moment later, another text appeared. 

_ ‘I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Thank you for checking in on me. I’m doing pretty well’ _

She stops for a moment.  _ Should she do this?  _ It wasn’t like she was doing anything morally wrong, right? No, she wasn’t. Besides, she’s a grown woman. She should be able to make decisions for herself. 

_ ‘I was wondering whether you’d like to get some lunch with me tomorrow, assuming you’re able to, of course. Just some more friendly catching up if you would’  _

She sent the message, and anxiously (though she wasn’t sure why) waited for his response. It took a couple minutes, the text bubbles appearing and disappearing a few times. Then it finally came. 

_ ‘Sure. Where at? Hot Pie’s?’ _

Dany was about to answer yes, that Hot Pie’s sounded good when another place came to mind.  _ Oh hell, for nostalgia's sake, why not.  _

_ ‘Uh, actually I was thinking about Davos’ Pizzeria if that’s okay with you’ _

She could almost feel his huff of a breathy chuckle and see his smile as if he were right in front of her.  _ ‘Of course :) I’ll see you there’  _

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> basically, Daario’s leaving for a two week intern camp for his job. Dany is not happy about that, causing some more tension between the two. And no, Dany is not using Jon as an entertainer of sorts to keep her from being bored or someone she turns to whenever she’s bored, don’t start an argument with me there. I feel some arguments already beginning to stew in some people regarding how I handled certain scenes in this chapter. I'll be honest, I wasn't totally sure about it myself. To be honest, not a favorite chapter (then again, when are any of these my favorite chapters). But the next two chapters, which I already have outlined in detail are almost all Jon and Daenerys. So there’s that. I’ll also give a pointer that in this story, Daario is not cheating and neither will Dany. Please do not bug me about that. Next, there’s been a few comments I’ve noticed about Dany being kind of cold and/or indifferent towards Jon. Chapter 21 was a mess, even on my part, and that’s largely a reason why people might think that. If Dany seems kind of cold here, then that’s my fault, I don’t intend for her to come out that way. I’m kind of struggling on how to “shine in” if you will, on some inner thoughts and feelings with the both of them without being very sudden and out of nowhere. 
> 
> Kind and CONSTRUCTIVE comments (and kudos!) are appreciated and encouraged. And remember kids, in the end, this is all fictional work. Oh, and I’m not totally sure when the next chapter will be out, maybe before or by May 9th, but again, that’s just an estimate. Stay safe and stay home (if you can’t, stay apart) xx
> 
> Next Chapter: Jon and Dany have some lunch together through Jon's perspective


	26. If I could do it all over, maybe I’d do it different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany have some lunch together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise early chapter! I started writing this immediately after I posted the last one and refused to leave my room until I finished it. I also have the next chapter already fully written, and chapter 28 about a third written, so you might see a second update later this week. I hope you enjoy reading :)

Once Jon had arrived at the parking lot of Davos’ Pizzeria, he shut off his engine. He thought about whether he should text Daenerys if she was here, when a car pulled in right next to his. When he took a peep at the driver, sure enough, it was Targaryen herself. They smiled at each other, both exiting their cars at the same time. 

He was graced with a happy smile from her. “Snow.” She tipped her head. 

“Targaryen.” He returned, tipping his invisible cowboy hat. They both laughed, shaking their heads at their antics. It felt uplifting to be able to do silly stuff like this again, especially with her. All his girlfriends before had been so serious, and were only interested in either his looks, his money, or sex. Sometimes it was a mixture of all three. And he’d gotten ridiculously sick of that. 

“You got rid of your motorcycle.” She noted, nodding to his Tesla. He slapped (gently) a hand on the top of his precious car. 

“Aye. Got this one instead. A lot more efficient.” 

“I remember you used to ride that motorcycle all the time. Anywhere and everywhere.” He smiled, a bit wistful. She too had ridden said motorcycle with him several times. 

“It’s in my parents’ garage somewhere. I didn’t think a motorcycle would be a good way to get to work with a bag full of papers and an expensive suit.”    


  
Daenerys nodded, seeming to understand his reasoning. They headed inside, Jon holding the door open for her and letting her go through first. As soon as they stepped in, he smiled at the way she stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes and inhaling the rich smells of the pizza place. He recalls her doing just that when he first brought her here a long time ago. He’d thought she was adorable doing it then, and it doesn’t seem to lose its effect even now.  _ Still the same.  _ When she opens her eyes and catches him looking at her, she turns away, and he swears he can see the slightly red coloring to her cheeks. When she looks back at him, she clears her throat. 

“Sorry. It’s been a long time since I stepped in here that one time.” Jon nods, understanding what she’s talking about. He’s ashamed to say he hasn’t been here as nearly as many times as he wants. He only eats here every now and then. 

“It’s fine. I totally get it. I’ve popped in here only a few times myself.”    


  
She smiles, and though it’s not a big one, he can see her eyes crinkle up slightly as she does so. “Maybe we should make it more often then.” She says softly. 

He’s taken aback by her words, and finds himself overthinking it. Did she mean that? Like both of them eating here at the same time, or just eating here on their own separately whenever they can? But before Jon can ask her to clarify, she’s already walking ahead of him to give their order to the young looking boy manning the register. Matthos, Jon remembers. One of Davos’ sons whom he’d met the last time he came. They nod to each other, their way of saying hello. 

“Matthos, is your father here?” He asks the boy. He nods, pointing to the back that’s covered by two doors. 

“He’s in the back kitchens somewhere. What can I get for you two today?”    


  
Jon looks to his Daenerys, letting her know she can order first. 

“I think I’ll have the medium pineapple pizza with the drink please,” she orders, as Matthos nods and punches it in, then looks to Jon. 

“The large supreme with a drink for me.”    


  
Matthos nods again, and once he has their order inputted to the system, he gives them their two cups of drinks, and their cost. Before she could do anything, Jon has his wallet whipped out, his card ready to go. He doesn’t miss the way she frowns, but takes the cups silently. When they’re done paying for their order and getting their drinks, they find a table to sit in, both sitting opposite each other. 

She frowns again at him. “I could’ve paid.”    


  
“I know you can.” He casually takes a sip out of his soda. 

“You paid last time, Jon. I don’t think that’s fair.” 

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re paying for the tip.” 

That seems to be enough for her, as she leans back and takes a sip out of her drink as well. With a thought in mind, Jon leans forward, trying his best to muster up his serious face. 

“There’s something I need to ask you.”    


  
It seems he’s playing quite well the act of being serious, as Daenerys puts her drink off to the side and leans forward, showing him that she’s all ears. 

He takes a breath before saying it. 

“Pineapple on pizza? Really, Daenerys?”    


  
Her face falls as she looks at him chuckling at himself. She tries her best to look upset at him, but he can see the corner of her lips almost begging to turn up. Finally, she gives in to the temptation, smiling as she shakes her head and laughs at him. She reaches over and pushes his shoulder back a bit. 

“Will you shut up? You chose to put vegetables on yours. I think that’s far worse.” 

“But no one ever talks about vegetables on pizza do they? Pineapple on pizza is the real crime.” 

She leans forward, squinting at him. “I think the unfairness in this argument is the real crime here.” She almost whispers. 

They burst out laughing again, and for the first time in what seems like a while, Jon feels light. As if he wasn’t stressed to the max with his job. Here, laughing and joking with Daenerys, he feels nothing but happiness. Not to mention that he can’t help but notice how despite them all changing, Daenerys’ physical features haven’t seemed to change one bit. He feels like he should hate himself for remembering exactly how her lips pull back when she laughs, or the way she narrows her eyes at him whenever he says something stupid simply for the purpose to make her laugh. He wants to hate himself for that but he can’t. Except he really should. 

The subject seems to change as their laughter dies down, and she looks at him again. “Do you remember the last time we were here?” She takes a look around the place, and it seems like nothing has changed since the last time they were here together. 

“Aye, I remember.”  _ How could I forget?  _

“This was where I heard your true accent for the first time.”    


  
Jon cringes as he remembers his accent slipping back then. He hadn’t meant to do it at the time, but he was glad he did. “You know, I vaguely remember you blackmailing me just so you could hear it.”    


  
“I must’ve blackmailed you good if you’re still speaking it 8 years later.” She states. 

Jon can only snort. She wasn’t wrong.  _ You blackmailed me with a third date, if I remember correctly. How could I have said no to that?  _ The answer? He couldn’t. Not at the time. 

Just then, their pizza arrives, served by the old man himself, Davos. 

“Davos! It’s good to see you again, mate,” Jon exclaims to his old family friend, him and Daenerys moving their drinks so there was room for their food. 

“Likewise Jon. Matthos told me you were here so I just had ta deliver this ta ya’ myself. It’s real good to see you again.”    


  
“It’s good to see you too.” 

Then, Davos turns his attention to Daenerys, cocking his head to the side and looking at her. “Forgive me, Miss, if I’m wrong, but I feel like we’ve met before? Now, I might be old, but I’ve got a good memory for myself. I’ve never forgotten a face, but names are a different story.” 

She smiles warmly, extending her hand out to him, ready to shake as she told him. “Dany.”    


  
Davos’ face lights up as he immediately recognizes her, taking her hand to shake enthusiastically. “Ah! Yes, Dany, I remember now. Ya came in here with Jon a bit of a while back. It’s very good to see you again. You seem to have grown a lot in these years, good for you.”    


  
From here, Jon can see how much she appreciates his old friend’s charm and good graces. Then, Davos turns his attention back to the both of them.    


  
“It seems not even time could tear ya two apart, huh? I take it the pretty rock on her finger means congratulations are in order for you two. When did you propose, lad? When’s the wedding?” He looks excitedly between the two of them, clapping Jon’s back. 

Jon felt an imaginary record scratch happen when Davos said that, and it seemed Daenerys did as well. They looked confused at each other for a second, before realizing what he was saying. 

“Oh no-”    


  
“Oh, you’ve mistaken-”    


  
“We’re not actually-” 

“You’ve gotten it wrong-”    


  
They verbally trampled and spoke over each other as they tried to clear up the confusion that obviously seemed to be happening here. Davos looks back and forth between them amusedly. Suddenly, they both stop talking and look at each other. Daenerys awkwardly laughs it off quietly, and Jon takes it as his moment to explain. 

“We’re not- she’s not- er- we aren’t engaged actually. She’s with someone else.” 

Davos looks quite surprised when he tells him that bit of information, though Jon isn’t really sure why he’d be surprised. “Oh… well, I’m very sorry for jumping to conclusions then. I didn’t mean to offend.” He bows his head towards Daenerys, and she waves him off politely. 

“No offense taken.” 

Davos seemed relieved at that as he straightened himself back up. “Thank you. I do still apologize. Though, it’d be fairly easy for anyone to have mistaken you two for a couple. But I’ll leave you two youngin’s alone to enjoy the food.” And with that, he excuses himself and leaves them alone to themselves. 

Daenerys, who out of nowhere, starts to crack up as soon as Davos is out of range for him to hear them, and Jon joins in as well. Except he can’t help but think that maybe, _just maybe,_ in a different world, had things gone differently, there would have been no need to correct Davos’ assumption. _Maybe in a different world, Dany would’ve still been mine._ _Wait-no. Fuck you, Snow. Get a grip of yourself and your emotional ass and let it go already. You’ve moved on, remember? Fucking act like it._

They go on, eating their respective lunches and the occasional side chat every now and then. When they finish their food, he notes that there’s still a little bit of time left to talk. 

“So, how are you and uh, your  fiancé doing?” He doesn’t know his name, and if he’s being  _ brutally  _ honest with himself, he couldn’t care enough to find out. Or really know about them as a couple. But he asks anyway because he wants to be polite. However, he doesn’t miss the grimace that happens upon her face when he asks, and he immediately thinks that there’s been trouble in ‘paradise’. 

“We’re fine,” she says, but in a way that makes him raise an eyebrow that pretty much says  _ ‘are you really?’ _

She sighs, playing with the straw of her drink. “I don’t know. I think we are. Except he’s gone for two weeks for some intern camp thing for his job, so he’s postponed the planning stuff for the wedding until he gets back.” Then, she mutters under breath, something about him probably postponing it again. 

It causes him to frown. He feels that there’s something she’s probably not telling him, but he chooses not to comment on it. It wasn’t his relationship and it was none of his business. He’s never met the guy, but hearing about him through Daenerys already gives Jon the feeling that he won’t like him. How could he procrastinate on an event like that? If it were Jon in that position, he’d be eager to make her his wife. 

_ Gods fucking dammit Jon. You can’t say shit like that, even in your own head.  _

So he nods his head instead, and in an effort to change the subject before things got sour, he asked her; “So why’d you ask me to lunch again?”    


  
His efforts to turn the sourness down was futile as she looks up at him and frowns. “Is it wrong to ask a friend to lunch?” 

Jon shakes his head quickly, and searches desperately in his mind to think of something witty to say. When he does think of one, he leans forward towards her. 

“So are we best friends now?” He asks her with a teasing smile. Thankfully, it seems to be enough to get her to smile as well. 

“Mm, best friends? That’s a bit strong. I reserve that title for Missy. Why, do you think we’re friends?” 

He nods eagerly. “I like to think we are.”    


  
“Then that’s what we are.”    


  
Something in his stomach clenches at hearing it, and thinking about it.  _ Friends.  _ That’s what they were. Boyfriend and girlfriend turned exes turned friends. Jon wants to chuckle bitterly. He knows he shouldn’t be thinking about that. It was such a dangerous territory to be in, and if he were to go in too deep, he feared he’d never be able to escape it. None of the stuff that he was thinking of was any fair, to him and to Daenerys. That part of the past should have been crossed off, heavily blocked with a sign above saying ‘DO NOT ENTER’. He once thought it was. Until it seemed like a dragon came in, blowing it all down to the ground, leaving the path open. All he had to do was take a couple more steps in. 

It seemed like the world was taunting him with his past mistakes. He knows he fucked up. As in,  _ royally  _ fucked up. But he thought he’d already paid the bulk of the price. All that time he spent suffering without her, desperately forcing himself to try and move on, and feeling like the world’s greatest idiot for hurting her. Wasn’t  _ that  _ enough to atone for his mistakes? The gods didn’t seem to think so. No, they had to put him through all of that, and just when he was finally living a good, stable life that consisted of him and his dog and his job, they had to bring her back into his life. They felt the need to joke around with him and bring her back to him, only to let him discover that she was fucking engaged to someone else. And probably living a much better life with that someone else too. 

He hates himself for even  _ thinking  _ of the things that goes on through his mind when she’s around.  _ If only, what if…  _ It went on and on like a never ending wheel, and he was the spokes of it. And it wasn’t fair. He felt like a child for continuously saying it, but none of this was  _ any fucking fair.  _

He made a mistake, he suffered for it, and he moved on. What more was he expected to do? She was here, right in front of him, and there’s so many things he wants to do and say, but he couldn’t do a single damn thing about it. He had to distance himself from her in some sort of way, else he fears he might just fall apart. He regrets not being able to truly apologize for what he’s done, but if he was being extremely honest with himself, he was just scared. He was just a stupid coward who feared what she might say. He felt like they were actually forming a good friendship again, and if he said or did one thing out of line, she’d be gone again. He wasn’t- _ couldn’t- _ be a fool enough to fall in love again, but it didn’t mean he didn’t want to be around her. He made his mistake by lying, and now that she was happy again, he won’t be the one to ruin it. 

A million thoughts ran through his mind when they met yesterday, and she’d placed her hand on his. A simple touch like that that seemed to ignite a fire inside him. And all he had to do was turn his hand, and he’d be holding hers, just as he once did before. 

But they weren’t teenagers anymore. They would never return to that kind of intimacy, only in his dreams. She’d made it clear to him what they were, that they were  _ friends, _ and  _ only friends. _ She might as well have said that he should just stop dreaming like a little boy with his first crush. 

“Jon? Helloo? You there?”    


  
He was taken out of his long train of bitter thoughts with Daenerys waving her hand right directly in front of his face. He winces, blinking a couple times as she does so. 

“Are you feeling okay? You kinda dozed off for a second.” She looked at him worriedly, and for a  _ tiny split second _ , he wants to get upset at her for that, that she doesn’t get to care about him like that anymore. But he knows he’s being absolutely ridiculous, so he nods instead. 

“I’m okay. I was just thinking of something else s’all,” he says.

He glances up at the clock placed on the wall above the register, and he doesn’t know whether to be glad or sad that it was time for them both to leave. They both get up, throwing their trash away but keeping their drinks. He waits for Daenerys as she goes through her wallet, then stands up to give her  _ quite generous  _ tip to Davos who just walks out at the right time. He thanks her profusely, and waves goodbye to them both, telling them to come back soon. They both call out that they will as they head out the door. When they get to their cars, she turns around. 

“This was actually pretty fun.”    


  
He can’t help but agree, and that though his thoughts may have put a damper on himself, he enjoyed eating lunch and talking with her again. 

“So when’s the next time you’re available?” She asks him, and it shocks him to hear her say so. He wants to be happy that she’s willing to do this again, but he immediately puts a brake on that. He tells himself that it’s just because her  fiancé is gone, and she needs a friend to keep her company, that’s all. Though why doesn’t she just ask any of her other friends then?

She’s still waiting for an answer from him, but he doesn’t even seem to know his own schedule. 

“Actually, I’m not really sure yet. I’ll text you when I do.” 

She nods, a happy smile on her face. “Okay, well, maybe next time we can invite Missy and Grey and have some dinner together. You remember them right? Missandei and Grey?”    


  
He feels a warm smile spread on his face as he hears the names. “Of course I do.” He’s really glad to hear that they’re back here in Winterfell again. Then he thinks about it. “Wait-they’re still together?”    


  
Dany happily nods, beaming up to him. “Yup. They’re married now.” 

Jon can’t help but smile himself.  _ Well damn you, Grey. At least one of us succeeded.  _ He’s quite happy to hear, however, that his former old friend is now happily married. 

“Well, I’d love to be able to see them again sometime,” he tells her earnestly. 

“That’s great! Once you find out when you can make it, we can all coordinate and meet for some dinner. I’m sure they’d love to see you again” 

Jon isn’t so sure Missandei would be the happiest to see him. Last time he saw her, he was pretty sure that if looks could kill, his body would be rotting away in the dirt in a wooden box by now. But he nods anyway. “That sounds great to me. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.” 

Soon, they both part, climbing into their own respective cars. He lets her exit out first since they’re right next to each other, and watches as she pulls out and drives away. Only then, does he take his turn and back up, leaving the premises. He’s out on the main road when his mind starts to wander again. 

_ “Do you remember the last time we were here?”  _

He said he remembers. He told her he did. But he didn’t mention the deeper stuff. Like how it was also the first time she’d revealed something really important about herself to him. It was the night he discovered all her family minus her Uncle were dead. 

It was also the night of his first football game of the season in his senior year. He recalls her and Missandei being there, watching them from the stands as they played a tough game. And he remembers getting tackled to the ground, just as he’d made the winning shot. When he was back up, she was right there with him, in front of him, standing there on the field. She’d come all the way down just to check if he was okay. He remembers feeling how warm his heart had been to see that such a shy girl as herself back then was willing to run down to the field just to see if he was okay, despite knowing the huge crowd of people and his teammates were all watching. It felt like so long ago, which it was, but it also felt like everything had happened just last week or something. 

Before he could dig himself further into that hole, he stopped himself. What use would come out of thinking of the past like that? Nothing. So why was he doing? Whatever had happened in high school, it didn’t and shouldn’t matter now.  _ Especially not now. _

As soon as he pulled into his building’s parking lot, he forced himself back into work mode. There would be no use of past thoughts here in this building, and so they’d fled from his mind for the time that it took to finish the rest of his day. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you might be seeing the chapter total for this fic change at some point; I'm still trying to figure out how I want to approach the end, and so the number will probably be going down. 
> 
> (long note ahead, again lol I'm sorry)
> 
> There's also something I'd like to address as well, and I'll be completely honest here. I know I continuously say that 'kind and constructive comments are appreciated' AND THEY ARE! Don't get me wrong, there are many that are actually good and contain good suggestions that actually help. And they are and always will be encouraged. Except there is a BUT to is. I think I've kind of lost my 'vision' to say as I continued writing this fic. I truly wasn't expecting so many people to actually read this, especially it being my first Jonerys fic and first official fic in the GoT fandom. I started writing this because I really felt the need to get this idea written down. I absolutely love the positive responses I'm getting from people saying they really enjoy this story as it's really uplifting and encouraging to me. It motivates me to keep writing for YOU guys. 
> 
> But lately, I feel like I've derailed a bit since the beginning. I originally started writing this story for me, but as it continued on and so many people were starting to read, it's turned into like a 'chore' or some homework assignment that I'm expected to do and perfect. I love writing this story, please don't mistake me there, but lately, I've just felt so pressured to get every single detail and thing perfect that it's beginning to drag me down. Every thing that I write, I begin to backtrack and doubt myself so much, wondering if this is good enough, if it's perfect, does it make sense, etc. And creative writing (yes that's what I'm calling this) should never feel like that. You should be writing because you enjoy writing. That's what fan fiction is for some people, a way to let some creativity out and try a hand in writing because they LIKE to do it. 
> 
> Now, I really don't want people to get offended and mistake this note for something. Keep continuing to write your comments how ever you please (but nicely) and they will get accepted. However, there may be some I reply to and some I won't. I might not reply to some certain questions or comments and that's not because you offended me or anything. For the sake of my mental health, I just want to try and write this fic the way I had originally envisioned it and not have to change some things around to make it perfect for people. This isn't meant to attack anyone or blame you guys for anything, I just needed to get this out there. Stuff won't be perfect, and that's okay. If things don't go the way you wanted, I'm sorry about that. It's just kind of a thing where as you get near the end of a story, you get pressured to make sure everything is tied up nicely and perfect so that people will like it. I don't want to have to worry myself sick overthinking about how other people might view it as. 
> 
> Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic and whiny here, but this needed to be addressed. Continue your lovely comments, I'm not telling you to stop, I'll always take your suggestions into consideration where it's appropriate but I cannot keep warping this story into something that is simply there to please other people and not myself. I don't even know if this made any sense, I really hope it did. Main thing is, I don't want to keep thinking "is this okay", "is this enough or is this too much" "will they like it, what if they hate it" and all that stuff. I appreciate those who bothered reading his long ass note and to those who enjoy this story. I appreciate each and every one of you!! I just really need to start thinking of my self first and I hope that doesn't sound selfish. I'll be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you have as I see fit :) Chapter 27 will probably be up around this Thursday or Friday depending on my schedule (don't hold me on that though, I might procrastinate lol)
> 
> Next chapter: Jon and Dany have some dinner with Missandei and Grey


	27. How do I get better once I’ve had the best?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany enjoy some dinner with Missandei and Grey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a side note, Dany and Daario have had other interactions besides just what i’ve written and shown (so basically Daario’s been ‘absent’ a lot more than I’ve shown). Also, this is not meant to be a love triangle story. Daario doesn't really play an active role between Dany and Jon, kind of just a barrier between them, though something will happen next chapter but it isn't really something that I would consider major enough to make him considered part of a love triangle. Anyways, hope that makes sense, and hope you like this chapter. As always, thank you all for your kind comments, I'm so happy to hear many of you are enjoying this story! I hope you continue enjoying it as the end becomes closer

It was a nice, relaxing night after a long day at work, that found Dany casually sipping a glass of wine on Missy’s couch, talking to her friend. She’d asked earlier that day if it would be alright for her to come over, which Missy replied to with an ‘of course!’. 

“So, I can already feel that there’s something on your mind. What’s up?” Missandei asked her, leaning her side against the couch and a leg tucked underneath her. 

Dany smiled, though it wasn’t wide, or truly genuine. “It’s about Daario.”    


  
Missy made a face, as if she knew what Dany was about to say. “I take it from your tone that things aren’t going very well.”    


  
Dany sighed heavily, taking another sip from her glass before continuing. “It just bothers me how he keeps blowing off trying to plan the wedding. I get that he’s busy,  _ hell _ , I am too. I just wish he’d at least try to set aside a little bit of time for us to sit down and talk. And now he’s off for two weeks even farther North, and I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to seem too pushy and overly eager about this, but- I don’t know, it’s just kind of irritating, I guess.”    


  
Missy nodded, biting her lip as she thought about the situation. “Maybe he’s just trying to get some work out of the way so he’ll be able to have more time off later. Some guys think like that for some reason. They think they’re making things better by making things worse. Not that I’m saying Grey does that. He’s amazing. But I might be biased.”

Dany gave a close mouthed smile, but it faltered as she continued thinking about it. Was she really being too pushy? She hated being in a situation like this, where she was left feeling kind of lost and unsure of what to do. 

She was brought out of her thoughts when Missy placed a hand over hers. “Dany, I don’t think you should worry about it so much about it. Maybe it’s really nothing. I mean, planning a wedding is _not_ _nothing_ , but maybe Daario just wants some time to ‘bask in the glory of being engaged’. It sounds weird, but some people like doing that.” She shrugged, giving her a kind smile. 

“‘Glory of being engaged’?” Dany couldn’t help but snort, looking away before looking back. “Doesn’t really seem like that,” she muttered under breath. She didn’t miss the way Missy frowned concerningly at her. It was the truth, though. It felt more like he was pulling away from her. She quickly remembers something, and before they could continue, she adds in; “Oh, I forgot to ask, why didn’t Grey go to the camp too? Don’t they work the same field?”

Missy looks confused at first, but then realizes. “Oh, Grey thought he wouldn’t be needed much, so he decided to stay. Anyways, are you sure you guys are okay? Is this even about the wedding anymore? Dany, tell me the truth, are you happy? Like, with him?”   


  
“Of course I am!” She exclaimed, though a bit too quickly, leading to Missy giving her the  _ ‘we both know that’s not the truth’.  _

“You can tell me the truth. It’s not like I’ll tell anyone.” 

Dany smiled, appreciating her friend’s kind, warm, and supporting nature. It never failed to make her feel safe. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” She admitted, feeling ashamed for herself. Why wasn’t she happy? She should be over the moon, happy, but she didn’t feel like it. Dany hated herself for feeling this way, not understanding why and feeling like she should. 

“And what makes you say that?”   


  
She hesitated before answering. “Maybe it’s just ‘cause he’s gone a lot more. Ever since he proposed, we’ve been slowly getting more distant from each other. It’s not even about the planning stuff anymore. I feel bad for blaming him and his schedule, but we barely have time for even a simple conversation. I feel-... I don’t know.”    


  
“I think you do know, you’re just scared to say it.”    
  


“Neglected. Alone. Like we’re slowly splitting apart. Like he’s given up actually trying to make this relationship work.” As soon as the words spilled out of her mouth, Dany wanted to close herself up into a hole and never emerge from it again.  _ It has to be the wine, _ she thought, giving the glass a wary stare. Normally she’d never say such things coming from the deep depths of her mind (and heart), even to Missandei. There were some things that just had to be kept to herself. Now she’s gone and pretty much trashed her own boyfriend to her best friend. 

Missy frowns, and Dany can’t help but think that maybe she’s said too much, and that Missy would tell Daario. Except she knew how ridiculous it sounded. Dany knew that if she wanted something to stay quiet, Missandei wouldn’t tell a  _ soul, _ not even to Grey, her own husband. It was only one of the many,  _ many _ different things she loved about her best friend. 

“I might just be overreacting though…” she added, her voice trailing off. 

However, Missy shook her head. “No. Don’t dismiss your own feelings like that. You’re allowed to feel what you feel… I think Daario’s being pretty stupid at the moment, to put it brutually honest. I think you should try addressing that to him. Make him sit down and actually talk it out when he comes back. And if he doesn’t want to, or just makes up some other excuse, then call me and I’ll sit him down myself. I think that it’s the first step to take. Doing something drastic might not be so reasonable just yet. Listen,” Missy pauses to take the glass of wine from Dany’s hand and sets it down on the coffee table next to them. Then she takes both of Dany’s hands into her own. “I’m sorry you’re feeling this way right now. You know I only  _ ever  _ want you to be happy, right? If he still doesn’t listen, Grey and I will personally come and beat his ass. You don’t deserve to be thrown aside like this, okay?” 

Dany smiles and nods, and it takes all she has not to let tears water her eyes and blur her vision at Missy’s sweet words. She nods, throwing her hands over her friend in an embrace. She doesn’t know what she’d do without Missandei, and quite frankly, she doesn’t want to find out. She’s not even sure what’s got her so emotional all of a sudden. Dany was just extremely grateful for a friend like her to be by her side since their high school years. Missandei had always been there, when things had gotten so hard she didn’t think she could take it anymore. She doesn’t think she’ll ever forget how supportive she’d been when her Uncle Aemon had passed away. Except it wasn’t just Missandei… 

_ Jon.  _

She thinks fondly of that time. Maybe it was wrong to think of the time they’d spent together when she was with someone else, but reminiscing into the past was something she just couldn’t help sometimes. 

Dany remembers when she first got word that her Uncle was in the hospital. She and Jon had been on a date at the zoo, but he’d driven her straight to the hospital as fast as he could. She remembers how he was with her in the room, how he held her afterwards and every time after that. He hated leaving her alone for too long, and while at the moment it might’ve been irritating to her, she thinks of how his intentions were only good at that time. Just as Missandei had brought her to her house for Thanksgiving, Jon had brought her to his for Christmas, where she spent her day with the Stark family. And she recalls clearly the gifts he’d gotten her. The necklace and the promise ring. The ring that  _ should’ve _ been thrown away when she’d learned the truth of him. The ring that was still-

“Dany?”    


  
Missy had snapped her out of her head once again, looking concerned this time. They’d pulled away from each other, Missy squinting at Dany’s eyes to most likely try to figure out what she was thinking. 

“Are you alright?”   


  
“I’m fine. I swear. I just kind of zoned out for a second.”    


  
Missy thankfully didn’t press on and seemed to believe her. With the thought of Jon still in her mind, she remembered what else she wanted to ask Missy. 

“When do you think you and Grey will be available, like around evening time?”    


  
“I’m good for Fridays and weekends. I’ll have to ask Grey when he gets home. Why?” 

“I was actually thinking, it’d be nice if you, Grey, me and Jon all had dinner together or something. I brought it up to him the other day, and he said he’d love to see you guys again. I know it’s not a full high school reunion, but it was kind of our ‘friend group’ back then.” 

Missy gives her a big smile. “I’d love that actually. That would be so much fun. I’m absolutely positive Grey would want to see Jon again too.”    


  
Dany’s face almost mirrors Missandei’s. “That’s great to hear. But, you’re sure, right? I just don’t want it to be weird between you and Jon.” She knows how much Missy had resented him for what he did to her, and for some reason, her friend carried the grudge much longer than Dany did. At least, she thinks so… 

“Oh, please. You think I’m going to attack him or something? Don’t worry, I won’t.” Missy says, though she adds a teasing wink to it, causing both girls to laugh. “But seriously though, it’ll be fine. I promise I won’t say or do anything weird.” 

“That’s good. I’d really appreciate it if things were kept civil.” 

“Only for you then, Dany. And I’ll tell you as soon as I can when Grey and I will be able to make it.” She tells Dany excitedly. Then, for the rest of the evening, they continue talking, just as any two best friends would do. 

  
  


**_____**

A couple days later, they all managed to settle on one evening where all four were available for a dinner together. The early night found Dany and Jon waiting in the waiting area of  _ The Dragon Pit, _ as Missy and Grey were running just a tiny bit late. They decided they would wait for their friends to come first before getting seated. Since it was a nice, formal restaurant, they all dressed for the location. Dany wore a formal white button down loosely tucked into slim black pants that fit around her legs, and some flats that she had found to match. Jon had worn his work clothes, which consisted of a white button down and some formal pair of jeans. Dany wanted to chuckle at how they somehow managed to coordinate and wear similar outfits without even talking about it. 

They sat side by side each other, waiting patiently as Dany checked her phone occasionally for the time and for a text. Gods, she already made reservations, so she sincerely hoped Missy and Grey didn’t decide to ditch her and Jon for dinner. That would make things…  _ uncomfortable. _ It wasn’t that she and Jon weren’t comfortable speaking to each other. They’d just run out of things to fill the silence between them other than the polite ‘how’s work’ and ‘thanks for coming tonight’. 

Dany glanced at him next to her, as he was seated to her left. She secretly admired the way he’d folded his sleeves back, as it only served to give her eyes space to roam his toned forearms. However, there was one thing that caught her eye, as he turned his hand upwards facing the ceiling. Was that…? No… it couldn’t be… 

_ He still had it. He never removed it.  _

The black, cursive ink on his right wrist, spelling out the word  _ king _ . 

A million thoughts began flying in her head all at once.  _ Why? Why hadn’t he gotten it removed? Does that mean he still cares too? Wait-no- what’re you talking about Daenerys?! He probably just didn’t want to remove it because it apparently hurts a lot. Isn’t that what you keep telling yourself? _

Her own tattoo on her left wrist, the one matching his with  _ queen, _ suddenly felt like it was itching and burning at the same time. She didn’t know what to think. It shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but she couldn’t help but think of it as that. They were sort of a gift she’d thought of on his birthday. 

_ “We should get matching tattoos.”  _

_ “I’m sorry, what?”  _

_ “Matching tattoos. I think it’d be pretty cute. If you want to, that is.”  _

_ “You know I’d do anything with you. I mean, as long as the design is small.” _

She remembered exactly the day they got it. How cautious and unsure he’d been, but she could tell he was willing to do it simply because it would make her happy. And now, eight years later, here they sat with it still on. It was funny how it worked, Dany thought. She really should stop thinking about those times. Especially considering how it all ended. But she couldn’t help but indulge herself and her thoughts even for a little bit. It’d been such a happy time, before it ended. 

_ I loved him. _

_ I loved him and I cared for him and he was lying all along. _

Her thoughts had done a complete 180º turn. She’d gone from reminiscing to bitter out of nowhere. It never failed to make her even a little bit sad whenever she thought about it, no matter how many times she’d told herself she was over it. He could’ve told her the truth at any point. He could’ve said  _ something _ to her before things had gotten serious. But then again, she should’ve known. She should’ve noticed how uneasy he was whenever his friend was around. The same friend who’d forced him to tell her the truth. 

_ Dany, don’t go there. What amount of cursing the past do you think is going to change the way things went?  _

She managed to bring herself back and reign in her emotions. And before she could stop herself, the question escaped her mouth. 

“You still have it?”

His attention towards her, eyes wide in curiosity. “Still have what?”   


  
She nodded towards his wrist. He followed what she was nodding at, and when he did, she saw as his eyes widened as he frantically tried to tug his sleeves down to cover it.   


  
“I- sorry. I didn’t- I never seemed to have- I don’t-” His cheeks were both red in color as he tried explaining himself, and she couldn’t help but smile a little at how flustered he looked and was. He stopped and hung his head low, and she faintly heard him muttering something about how he never found the time to get it removed. But Dany recognized that tone. She knew that it wasn’t the truth. She tentatively placed a hand on his arm, gathering his attention back. He looked up, and she took that moment to roll her own sleeve up, showing him the matching ink on her skin. His eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he struggled to find something to say. He met her eyes, and for a second, it was just grey eyes against violet, tuning the rest of the world out as they seemed to connect in a certain way. They shared a smile, and to Dany, it seemed all bitter thoughts she was once thinking flew out the window, and was replaced by a warm, fuzzy feeling she felt in her chest and in her stomach at once. 

Their moment was interrupted however when Missy and Grey walked in the restaurant door. Dany and Jon broke apart, standing up to greet their friends. 

“Hi, we’re so sorry we’re late. We were caught up with something.” Missy apologized, frowning as Dany shook her head. 

“It’s alright. We weren’t waiting too terribly long.”    


  
Missy shot Dany a weird look, and to Jon who stood behind her, but said nothing. She immediately switched the look with one of joy, smiling widely as Grey and Jon shared a hug with each other, saying how good it was to see the other again. Missandei and Jon shared a smile and a nod with each other, saying the same to each other. 

Once they got their greetings and small reunion talk out of the way, they followed the waiter to their seats. It was a booth somewhere in the back part of the restaurant. Grey and Missy sat together on one side, leaving her and Jon to sit together on the other. She and Missy faced each other whilst the guys did the same. 

They all take a moment to find their meal and drink choices to get it all out of the way first. Once their waiter had taken the order, they were all left to their own devices, beginning their conversation.

“I’m really glad we were able to do this.” Dany started, smiling warmly at everyone. The rest of the table agreed, nodding their heads with her. 

Jon took the lead next, directing his question to the couple opposite them. “So, how have you guys been? I’m happy you two are still going strong all these years later.” 

Dany smiles at how Grey practically beams as he and Missandei share a smile. “Well,” he starts. “It definitely wasn’t easy. You already know I went to Astapor to an Academy, Missandei went with Dany to Dragonstone. Long distance wasn’t fun, there were definitely times I thought she’d just end things to make it easier, but we pulled through. And one day, I proposed because I knew there was no one else who’d go through all that shit with me but her. She was it for me. We’ve been married for two years now.”

Dany smiled at the story, always feeling happy for her friends whenever she heard it. She loved hearing how successful their story had been, and knew it was far from over. If any two people deserved to be happy together more than anyone, it was Missandei and Grey. She looks over and sees that Jon is smiling as well, but there seems to be something different in his eyes. He’s quite obviously happy to hear their story, but it almost seems like there’s a superficial mask he’s got on. She wonders what exactly he’s thinking of, though Dany has a slight feeling she knows what it is. Probably something that had to do with the terrible questions that started with  _ what if and if only… _

“So, Jon, what have you been up to?” Grey’s voice filtered in, forcing her (and Jon’s) attention back to him. 

“Oh,” he chuckles dismissively. “Just the usual. Studied for college, got a job, the like. It’s really nothing, nowhere near as interesting as your story though.” 

Grey and Missy though snickered as Missy says, “Only Jon Snow could say becoming one of the youngest CEOs of the top company in the North was nothing.” They all laugh, but it’s in good spirits as Jon shakes his head and laughs with them too, though Dany notices the tip of his ears reddening. 

Her hand seems to act on its own as she places it on his arm, laughing and smiling at the same time. He doesn’t seem to mind though, looking at her amusedly. 

“She isn’t wrong.” It causes him to snort and chuckle again, which serves to make her feel lighter on the inside. She’s joking though, and she hopes he knows that as well. The Jon they knew then was different from the Jon that was in front of her now. This Jon was much more modest, and seems to gloss over his accomplishments. It wasn’t to say he’d been completely cocky before, no, she’d come to know him as not the person he seemed to put out to the public and to the rest of his friends. But it seems different this time, which kind of saddens her. It was in her beliefs that she thinks Jon shouldn’t hold back on his accomplishments. She wondered what had happened to change his mindset. She didn’t want to be self centered and say it had been the fallout of their relationship that had ultimately changed his outlook on things, but wasn’t it what happened to her? Maybe it both changed them in ways they didn’t really know. 

The table is quiet again, and when she looks back, she sees Missy staring at her, a brow raised, and it’s then she realizes her hand is still on Jon’s arm. It seemed Jon didn’t notice either, but still, she retracted her hand and placed it back on her lap. Missandei doesn’t stop looking at her weirdly though, and it almost makes Dany uncomfortable at the suspicious way her friend is looking at her. 

“What?” Dany asks her in a confused manner. 

“Nothing.” And with that, Missandei shuts down any chance for Dany to figure out what she was thinking. 

The waiter comes back, their food all in a tray at hand as he sets each plate in front of the one who ordered it. Once he finished, they all thanked him, getting an ‘of course’ in return. 

“So are you guys here for a special celebration?” He asks them.

Dany shakes her head, and with a smile, answers him. “No, just a dinner.”

The waiter nods. “Oh, so like just a double date then? You guys are super cute! Would you like me to take a picture with your food for you?” 

Dany turned around to Jon, as they shared a look, their eyes wide but also trying to suppress a smile as this wasn’t the first time they’d been mistaken for a couple. She turned back to the waiter, ready to inform him that  _ no, _ they weren’t actually dating. However, Missy beats her to it, her phone already in hand. 

“Yes please!”    


  
The waiter takes her phone, backing up a few steps and tilting it horizontally. But before he takes the picture, he tells Jon, “Could you scootch in a bit closer? I’m sure your girlfriend doesn’t bite.” He adds a wink, and Dany looks back to Jon. Since she and Missy were on the outer side of the booth, it meant Jon and Grey were on the inside next to the wall, so Jon was behind Dany from the waiter’s view. She can tell how uncomfortable he looks as he frowns, trying to lean in closer to Dany without actually touching her. She smiles at his polite attempts and whispers to him. 

“It’s okay.”

He takes it as her permission to put a cautious hand around her shoulder and settle it, and it takes every single muscle in her body to suppress the shudder that she feels from his touch.  _ What is wrong with me? _ She’s suddenly very aware of how warm his calloused hand felt on her skin. She wonders what he’s been doing that’s gotten them so rough, yet so gentle at the same time. 

They all look to the waiter, smiling as he takes their picture. Once he’s done, he hands the phone back to Missandei, and they thank him once again before he leaves. Dany is only  _ very  _ well aware of how Jon’s hand lingers just a moment longer than it probably should’ve. She chooses not to say anything about it though, leaving it be. Missy clicks a few things on her phone, and Dany feels the buzz of her own phone in her bag, signalling that her friend had sent the picture to her. She’ll have to remember to forward it to Jon later. 

The rest of their evening is much of the same, the four enjoying their meals, and each other’s company with Jon and Grey reminiscing about their time in football as the girls shake their heads and laugh.

Eventually, their dinner begins to come to a close as they finish their meals, and as the waiter comes with the checkbook and to take the empty plates from them.

“I’ll leave your check here for you. Do you guys still have any room for some dessert?” 

The four all shake their heads, saying how the food was delicious and had stuffed them up, causing the waiter to laugh. 

“Well, I’m glad you all enjoyed it. Please come again soon!”    


  
Once he leaves, Dany snatches the check presenter as soon as she senses and sees Jon’s hand behind her slowly trying to take it. She turns and sticks her tongue at him, and he feigns a pout. 

“Don’t worry, you can pay the tip,” she tells him, winking as she recalls his own words. He does pull out his wallet though and hands her the tip money in cash, just as Dany pays in cash as well. They leave it there, all four standing up and making their way to the exit. Once they’re outside the restaurant, Dany asks Missy and Grey where they’ve parked, to which they pointed to the left side. Missy returns the question and Dany and Jon both point to the right. 

“Well, I guess this is good night then. This was super fun though. We should totally do it again.” 

“Yeah, definitely. We’ll think of something again soon.” Dany says. 

The girls give each other a hug, just as the guys do, and then they part. Jon decides to walk her to her car first, even though his wasn’t that far away. 

“Thank you again, for taking me along for this dinner.” He says, and though she can’t see his eyes quite clearly in the dark, his voice alone tells her he’s being sincere.

“Oh, well, I’d feel kind of bad if I didn’t so,” she shrugs, and her heart nearly skips a beat as Jon throws his head back as he laughs, his lips pulling back to reveal his teeth. Dany realizes then by the slight pang in her heart just how much she’s missed the feeling she gets whenever it’s  _ her _ that makes him laugh and look so happy. 

“Well I’m glad your sympathy won you over.” Even though she’s just joking, she nods anyways. They stand there a bit longer, unsure of what to say. “I should probably head to my car now.” He says and she nods again, except he stays for a bit longer for a reason she didn’t know. Her arms weirdly twitch, and she finds it absolutely bizarre the instinct she had to hug him just then. But he leaves a couple seconds later. 

“Good night, Daenerys.”    


  
“Good night, Jon.”    


  
He leaves, walking away from her. But before he can turn the corner of her car and away from her sight, she calls out to him. He turns back, his eyes almost wide like a puppy’s with his eyebrows raised. 

She clears her throat, finding it inside herself to say it. “Dany… it’s always been Dany.”

He doesn’t seem to understand what she’s saying at first, but she watches as his face shows his understanding. A slow smile creeps onto his face and she wishes it wasn’t so dark just so she could see exactly how he was looking at her, though she can hear the smile in his voice all the same.

“Good night Dany.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure many of you have noticed that the chapter total has changed. I've actually managed to outlined nearly all the chapters to the end now, I'm currently in the process of writing the outline for the last chapter of this fic. I've brought it down to 5 chapters because I everything that happens in those chapters are all I planned on if that makes any sense. I don't have much else in mind, so I don't want to try and add anything else unnecessary to drag it on. We're nearing the end, y'all! Prepare for the next few chapters, it's gonna be just a tad angsty soon ;) chapter 28 should be up maybe Saturday or Sunday since that's finished already. All I have to say is, stuff's escalating real soon and quick :))
> 
> Next chapter: Different problems begin to arise for Dany and Daario. Jon and Dany accidentally meet at the bar.


	28. Some things never change, like the love that I feel for her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More cracks begin to form in Dany's relationship. Jon and Dany accidentally meet for drinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright folks, here's your chapter 28. 
> 
> I had like minor block in the beginning, and then about halfway through, I was typing like lightning speed on my laptop with all the words in my head lmao so,, 
> 
> sorry in advance. hope you enjoy! this was a really fun chapter to write, especially the drinks and after that ;)

It was yet another day at work, filled with much of the same usual business as always. Dany was busy typing away at her laptop, her focus completely zoned in on her task. She was glad to be so focused, as she’d be able to get most of the work done and out of the way that way. But annoyingly so, she’d forgotten to turn her phone off, which buzzed to life with multiple text messages. After the third one, she ceased her typing and checked her phone.

**Daario** :  _ What the hell Daenerys?! _

**Daario** :  _ How could you do this to me?! _ _  
  
_

**Daario** :  _ As soon as I leave, you go behind my back?! _

Dany’s eyes widened as she read his messages toward her. What the hell was he talking about? She doesn’t remember doing a single damn thing that could warrant such a reaction from him. In fact, it only served to annoy her, that the first text he’d sent her since he’d left was a text to curse at her, accusing her for something she didn’t even know. And the fact that he decided to have this type of conversation through fucking text.

**Dany** :  _ What are you talking about?  _ She’d sent. 

**Daario** :  _ Are you cheating on me? Tell me the truth! _

Cheating? Why the hell would he even think that? Dany could feel her temper rising higher and higher the more she engaged in this conversation. She was both infuriated, and hurt. Hurt because how could he think she’d do that? Did he truly believe she was the type of person to do such a thing? Dany believed she wouldn’t, not ever. 

**Dany** :  _ Of course I’m not! I don’t even know what you’re talking about _

His response was an attached image, and as soon as she opened it, she closed her eyes shut. It was a screenshotted image from Missandei’s social media account, and it was a picture from when she and Jon went to dinner with Missy and Grey. The picture was captioned with  _ “Date Night! And a mini high school reunion?” _

Dany groaned, leaning back into her chair as she began to fret when she got another message.

**Daario** :  _ As soon as I’m gone, you’re off going on double dates with another man now?! _

She wanted to scream at him ‘ _ shut up!’  _ just so she could think properly. How could Missandei caption it that? It would cause all sorts of misunderstandings now!  _ No,  _ she can’t throw the blame at Missy for this. Her intentions were probably innocent, she couldn't have known. 

**Dany** :  _ You’re misunderstanding this, he’s just a friend back from high school. We thought it’d be fun to have some dinner together, all four of us, that’s all _

It took him a minute or two to respond, and for a second, Dany thought- _ believed _ \- that he would give up the fight and apologize for overreacting. She shouldn’t have jumped to such conclusions though. 

**Daario** : _ Well, I don’t know who he is, but friend or not, I don’t think you should be hanging around him anymore _

Okay, what the actual  _ fuck? _ First, he’s accusing her of cheating, and now he’s telling her who she can’t be friends with?! There was absolutely no way Dany would allow him to control her like that. It made her absolutely livid to think he thought he was allowed to do such a thing. 

**Dany** :  _ The hell?! Since when were you allowed to tell me who to be around? He’s just a friend, it’s no different than Missy and Grey! _

**Daario** :  _ I just don’t like how he’s touching you in this pic Daenerys… _

**Dany** :  _ You know what? Fuck you, Daario _

She ended the conversation, turning her phone completely off and tossing aside, exhaling hard. The fucking audacity he has! She was Daenerys Targaryen, a grown woman who is more than capable of making her own damn decision’s for R’hllor’s sake! How was being around Jon anymore different than being around Missandei? Was it because Missy was a woman that Daario didn’t feel so threatened? Was it because of their past together? It couldn’t have been, because as far as she knew, Daario had absolutely no idea about her and Jon. Every time he’d asked her about her tattoo, she’d always said it was just an impulse decision she’d gotten on her own when she was younger. She never told him who she’d gotten them with. And as far as he was concerned, the ring and necklace were just that to him. He had no idea the sentimental value behind them at all. 

Dany was still fuming, trying her best to reign in her emotions. This wasn’t right, not at all. She knew she’d have to ask Missandei for help. 

**_____**

“I can’t believe he’d said that!” Missy exclaimed as she read through the texts between Dany and Daario just earlier that day. Dany had come to her place soon after work, needing someone to talk to about all of this as she leaned back on the sofa. 

“I know! I thought the same. I don’t think I’ve ever been as angry with him as I am right now,” Dany said, crossing her arms. 

“Dany, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have posted this in the first place…” 

“No, Missy,” she told her firmly. “This isn’t your fault. I won’t let you take the blame for this. And besides, it’s not the real issue here. Daario’s response is.”    


  
“You’re right,” her friend nodded. “He shouldn’t have said that. It’s not right to try and control someone, much less who they can and can’t be friends with.” 

Dany nodded subconsciously as she was in deep thought. When she’d turn her phone back on earlier, she was surprised with a bunch of messages from him, ranging from missed calls to him apologizing for his outburst. But she had an inkling he only apologized because she’d refused to talk to him after. She also had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time they would have this conversation, for when he arrived home there’d surely be another talk, and she dreaded that. 

Dany, for a strange reason, felt incredibly defensive for Jon’s case. There was nothing threatening about him. Minus the fact that they had once dated and he had been the love of her life,  _ but _ that wasn’t the point. They were over, and they’d both accepted that, hadn’t they? They talked about it, and agreed it was best they put that part of the past behind them. And they’ve been doing a good job of it too recently. Whenever they’d talk about their time in high school, they never specifically brought up the subject of them dating, though there were times that it lingered dangerously close to that line. The most they’d mentioned of it was when both had discovered that the other had kept the tattoo, and even then, there hadn’t been a proper conversation on it. At least, not yet. Sometimes, she had the strange urge to bring it back up, because if Dany was to be honest with herself, the conversation they’d had at Hot Pie’s had been unfulfilling in a way. The more and more she thought about it (and she really tried not to), the more she wanted to go back. Dany knew both she and Jon needed to truly address what happened, otherwise, there’d always feel like something was missing. And that’s how she described it to herself. That something was wrong, that something was missing. Ever since she and Jon had met again. 

“What are you going to do about it?” Missy asked, and for a second Dany feared she had spoken her thoughts out loud, and Missy was asking about Jon. But then she realized that she meant Daario. 

Dany shrugged. “I don’t know. Right now, I’m just pissed off about it.”   


  
“So you’re not going to talk to him?”   


  
“Not today. I don’t think I can without blowing up or something.” She tried to laugh a bit to lighten herself up. Missy only looked at her with pity, causing Dany’s laughter to die down. She could tell what her friend was thinking without even questioning it. 

“I’m fine Missy. We’ll be fine.”  _ Won’t they? _ They’ll be fine, she decides. 

She doesn’t seem to believe her though, and honestly, Dany isn’t quite sure herself. Maybe she’s overreacting, but his response had deeply aggravated her. Perhaps, when he gets back, she’ll be a lot more settled than she is now. At least, she hopes she will be, else she probably wouldn’t be able to talk to him then. She could use a good night out after all of this, she thinks. Preferably with a drink involved. 

“Hey, do you think you’re free tomorrow night for some drinks? I was thinking  _ Free Folk’s Arrow, _ ” Dany turned the conversation around. She really needed a couple of drinks after all the work and stress the past few days. Missy smiled, though it was apologetic as she shook her head. 

“I don’t think I can tomorrow night, I’m sorry.”    


  
Dany nodded. “It’s cool. I think I just need a night out to think about all of this.” 

**_____**

After a long day at work, Jon decided to postpone going home in favor of hitting up a few drinks with Tormund at his bar.  _ Ghost, buddy, you’re gonna have to wait a bit longer.  _

He sat down at the bar, Tormund serving him and staying to chat a bit, before he had to go tend to other customers. Jon was left to his thoughts, thinking about anything and everything. Robb and Margaery were due back to Winterfell soon, which Jon just couldn’t wait for. He’d made sure to keep a mental list of things to hang over his brother’s head so that Robb will know to owe him back. And most of all, there was one specific person in his mind going through a cycle again and again. 

_ Daenerys.  _

No, it was Dany now. She’d finally allowed him to call her by her nickname now. Not that he could remember when she specifically and directly asked him not to call her so, but he’d refrained from doing it. 

_ “Jon?” _

_ He had turned back around, eyebrows raised in question as she called out to him.  _

_ “Dany… it’s always been Dany.” _

Jon probably had on the world’s most stupid, goofiest grin on his face as she told him, and even on the drive back home. It felt like a portion of the weight on his shoulders had been lifted from him just from her words. It almost felt like it was her way of saying she’d truly forgiven him. He knows he’s probably being overdramatic about being able to call someone by their nickname, but it wasn’t  _ just that _ to him. It felt so much more intimate than that. It was a name only those who were closest to her could call her. And  _ maybe  _ they weren’t as close as they had been (no, they were definitely not  _ that kind _ of close), but it was just as special. It was the name that rolled off his tongue and felt so right to say. The name he’d used whenever she needed comfort from him. The name he’d grunted and moaned when they’d finally made love for the first time-

_ Hold it right there Snow!  _

Jon shook his head literally to rid himself of those sinful thoughts. It was one thing to reminisce about the past, but to think of  _ that _ ? It should’ve been far more off limits than anything else. 

Except he found that his mind decided to drift back again, and he was nothing but powerless to stop himself.  _ I’ll blame it on the ale later.  _ He remembered, though not as clearly as before, how soft her skin was, how soft  _ she  _ was underneath him, against him and around him. 

Putting his arm around her shoulder had been an absolute tease to him when they had dinner. Even though she was wearing long sleeves, he could still feel  _ her,  _ and while her arms weren’t muscley per se, they were definitely firm and toned underneath his hand. And then his mind wandered as he thought about what else was firm and toned on her… 

_ Fuck sakes Jon!  _

He’d given up trying to control himself and his thoughts. No one would know anyways, right? As long as he didn’t say anything out loud or act upon his thoughts, he’d be fine.  _ I hope so. _

“Aw, c’mon, lemme buy you a drink at least.” 

“I already told you, I’m fine. Now please, I’d appreciate it if you left me alone.”    


  
“You look like you could use a friend though. I’ll leave later.”    


  
Jon’s head turned towards the conversation happening right next to him. There was a man standing, leaning an arm and supporting the rest of his body weight on the bar’s countertop. He’s seen enough to know what this man’s intention was. He couldn’t see the woman this man was flirting with, but the voice was familiar enough. The same voice that was in his mind not too long ago. Jon moved to get a closer look, and sure enough, her silvery blonde hair shined bright amongst all the other heads in the room. 

It made him extremely uneasy and angry almost to see this man flirting with Dany that way, especially with how persistent he was and how unwanted his presence was to her. He knew she was perfectly capable of handling it, but his own selfish needs forced him to step in. 

“She said to leave her alone. I suggest you do as she asks,” he warned the man with a low voice, who turned around to see who was talking to him. Dany had even turned her head to look at Jon with wide eyes.

Perhaps it was the look on Jon’s face that forced the man to decide that flirting with this woman would be a mistake, and so he shrugged his shoulders and left. Both he and Dany looked on as he walked away, making his way to a booth table where a few innocent girls were talking and laughing. Jon shook his head and rolled his eyes before facing Dany again, who looked at him with a raised brow. 

“I could've handled that myself.”    


  
“Oh, I know,” he said, taking a drink from his glass. 

She shook her head, smiling as she copied his actions and took a drink from her own glass. “So what brings you here on this lovely night?”   


  
“Just thought I could use a drink, is all. You?” 

“Same. And some other things, but…” her voice trailed off, and Jon had a feeling it was largely the reason why she came here tonight. He moved seats closer to her, deciding he might as well try and make conversation with her since they were already here after all, though completely unplanned. 

“Do you remember that time I gave you a nosebleed with my head?” Dany said, the topic coming out of nowhere. It took him a second to think back to what she was saying, and when he remembered, he smiled and nodded. 

“Aye. I bloody well do, no pun intended. You had a hard head. Literally  _ and  _ figuratively,” he joked. 

She smiled as well. “I was absolutely  _ terrified _ you would hate me forever. Head-butting the nose of the most popular boy in school, what would that have made me? I thought I ruined _ any _ chance we had at becoming friends.” She looked down, almost wistfully at the glass in her hand. 

“If it makes you feel any better, I was quite impressed that someone like you was able to have so much strength in their neck.” 

Dany looked at him weirdly, her nose scrunching adorably up before they both shared a chuckle with each other.

“I miss those times.” He believed he heard her say, though she said it so softly he didn’t know whether that was meant for him or herself. He couldn’t say he didn’t agree with her, because he did. There were times he wished they could just go back to those days, and the amount of times he’d  _ thought _ about it was a lot more than it should be. 

“Is everything alright?” 

“Daario thinks I’m cheating on him with you.” The words seemed to spill out of her mouth. He can only assume that this ‘Daario’ guy was her  fiancé. Jon is taken aback at her sudden admittance, expecting her to brush it off and tell him she’s fine when he knows she’s not. 

He re-evaluates what she just said to him.  _ He thinks they’re cheating with each other?  _ Did this man have any idea who Dany truly was? If he did, he would never have accused her of such. She was loyal and faithful, she would never do such a thing, especially due to her past relationship (or more like relationship _ s _ ). He was starting to think that, as great and amazing as Dany was (and she was plenty and more great and amazing), she had some bad taste in the men she chose to date, including him. 

“What makes him say that?”   


  
“The picture that we took from dinner, all four of us. Missy posted it on her social media account and it was labeled ‘date night’, so I’m sure he used his imagination on that.” 

_ Oh fuck.  _ Maybe he shouldn’t have touched her then. Maybe he should have just learned to keep his hands to himself and leave her alone. He wanted to blame himself for that, for the misunderstanding. 

“Dany, I’m so-”   


  
“Save it,” she interrupted him. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m not here to drink my sorrows down because I’m sad or anything. Frankly, I’m pissed off at him right now. He-” she hesitated. “I told him we were just friends from high school and he said he thinks I should stop hanging out around you now.” 

_ What the fuck?  _ Who did this man think he was to tell her she couldn’t be around him anymore? What right does he think he has? That was such a controlling, manipulative thing to do! Hadn’t Dany gone through enough shit already? But then a different part of his brain started talking, and he wondered; was this his own fault? Maybe he was the reason why Dany and this Daario guy were having troubles now. 

“What did you say to him?”   


  
“I told him to fuck off.” 

Jon blinked a couple times, surprised. “Did you really?” She bobbed her head up and down. Despite feeling somewhat guilty still, he also felt proud. It was yet just another piece of evidence to show that she’d truly changed since high school, and in a better way. But he also couldn’t let go of the guilt. 

“I’m sorry, still. That I caused this between you two. You should be happy, not upset at him.”    


  
She pushed her now empty glass aside as she turned to face him completely from the bar stool. “Jon, you don’t have anything to apologize for. It was Daario’s fault for lashing out like that, jumping to conclusions and trying to control me. He should feel guilty,  _ not you _ . You couldn’t have known, and you did nothing wrong. So please, save your apologies for when they’re actually needed.” 

He nodded, staying silent. However, he still felt a bit of anger left inside of him hearing about her fiancé. He doesn’t know much about him, but to Jon, he already sounds like an ass.  _ Not that I’d tell her that though.  _

“Actually, you know what,  _ I’m _ sorry. I shouldn’t be treating you like some person I dump all my burdens on to. Especially about my boyfriend. You… it’s not fair to you.”    


  
He shook his head. “No, it’s okay, I asked you first anyway. And I’m always here if you wanna talk, ranting or not.”    


  
She looked up at him and gave him the most blinding, brightest smile ever, he thought he would’ve passed out by how  _ beautiful  _ she looked then. He barely mustered enough thoughts to his brain to smile back at her, albeit nowhere near as big or beautiful as hers. 

“What’s that you’re drinking?” She nodded her head towards his drink, changing the topic.  _ Thankfully. _

“Ale,” he lifted the cup for emphasis. “Northern Ale.” 

“I wanna try.” She made grabby hands towards his drink, and Jon felt that maybe she was  _ not _ on her first glass of drink. 

“You sure? It’s a bit strong, and probably not as good as your, uh, gin and tonic?” He said, squinting at her drink. She crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows at him. 

“Try me.”    


  
_ Whatever you want Dany. _ He gave her his glass, still a little bit of the drink left. Jon watched in absolute shock and amazement as she downed the rest of it all, not evening a single flinch to come out of her. She finished by putting the glass down in front of him, wiping at her mouth and smiling. The first thought that went through Jon’s fuzzy mind was:  _ I’m fucked. I’m so, totally, completely fucked.  _

“How-” he started, but unable to finish. She knew what he meant though and she answered him with her bright smile still in place. 

“I lived in Essos for a year. They have some  _ way  _ stronger drinks there. Like fermented Mare’s Milk. Trust me when I say it’s so much worse than your Northern Ale. They don’t have them here in the North though.” 

He continued staring at her in amazement. She turned to look at him, but as soon as he saw the look on his face, she turned away, and Jon knows a blush on her face when he sees one. He remembers how easily he used to make her blush before, and how it had been her giggles that had managed to give him a stronger will to live. It seemed like it was just yesterday that that all happened. Seeing her blush now, it didn’t change a thing. 

“Crow!”    


  
Jon was startled, his attention being forced away from Dany’s lovely face to whoever the hell just yelled in his ear. To his not surprise, it was Tormund, grinning like a Cheshire cat. 

“What do you want, Tormund?” He asked his friend, slightly irritated that his conversation with Dany had been interrupted. 

“Couldn’t help but notice your drink was empty! And this very pretty lady sitting next to you.” He turned his attention to Dany, who also faced him. “We’ve met before, yes? When you were with Robb. Dany was it?” 

“Mhm! Nice to meet you again,” she smiled prettily, batting her eyes, and Jon had a feeling the ale was getting to her, along with the other drinks she’d consumed. 

Tormund bent down and whispered to her, but was loud enough that Jon could hear. “So you break up with your other boyfriend yet?”    


  
_ Wait- what? _

“Hold on-Tormund, what’re you talking about?” Jon interjected. 

“Last time she was here, I knew she’d be the perfect fit for you, Jon! Look at her, tiny but tough, and raised here in the North too. Then I found out she was with someone else. But you two are here now! You together yet, huh? Fun little romp in the sheets maybe?” Tormund said, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. Jon fought the urge to facepalm himself and cover his face entirely. He’d said that to Dany?! He knows Tormund has been trying to play matchmaker with him recently, and Jon decided to let him do so because why not? He hadn’t managed to get any girls yet, and the first one he sees and talks to is Dany?!  _ What was she thinking when Tormund asked…?  _

“So?” His large, ginger haired friend inquired from them. Before Dany could answer, Jon gave him the death stare, slowly shaking his head. Luckily, Tormund took that warning to heart and ceased his actions. 

“Right… well… may I get you both another round?” He changed the subject. Jon looked to Dany, who already was looking a bit tipsy and probably didn’t need any more. But before he could object or say anything, she leapt up in her seat. 

“Yes please! Gin and tonic, on the rocks. And an ale. For Jon.” 

“Comin’ right up.”

As soon as Tormund left, Jon looked back to her. “How do you plan on getting back home after this? I can already tell you’ll be drunk, Dany.” 

She shrugged her shoulders, then looked at him accusingly. “Are you calling me lightweight? I am not a lightweight, Jon Snow. I’ll be fiiine.” She explained, extending the vowel of the last word. 

“No, you’re not going to be  _ ‘fiiine’ _ , you’re going to be  _ drunk _ . How did you get here in the first place?”    


  
“An Uber.” 

_ At least she doesn’t plan on driving herself and getting a DUI. _

“See? I’ll just call me an Uber later.”   


  
“Do you even remember the number?” He looked at her as she stared up, trying to remember it herself. “You don’t know, do you?”    


  
“No! I  _ do _ remember it. Just not right now.”    


  
_ She clearly hasn’t thought this through.  _ “Whatever you say.” He chuckled, and just then, Tormund came back, their drinks in hand. Dany took hers excitedly, taking a large drink and gulping it all down. Both Jon and Tormund stared at her do so. 

“Well, enjoy yourselves.” Tormund said, patting Jon on the shoulder before he returned back to his work. 

“Jon?” Dany called out to him. 

“Yes?” He looked at her, and took this time to observe her. Her eyes, the violet jewels, seemed a bit glassy, proof of her current state. Her cheeks were a bit flushed out, and it made her look like she was blushing.  _ Even drunk you still look so gods damned beautiful Dany. _ Now, he was nowhere near as intoxicated as she was at the moment, but he definitely had enough to feel slightly fuzzy and buzzed in the head. 

“Why’d you keep your tattoo?”   


  
Her question seemed to have paused his mind a bit, and he backtracked to make sure he heard correctly. _The tattoo._ When he’d seen how hers was still on her wrist, looking like it had as if it was recently done, he didn’t know what to think. He’d been so shocked he couldn’t respond properly. He’d wondered and thought about it so hard afterwards, asking himself the same question she just asked him. _Why did she keep it? Shouldn’t she have gotten it removed? Now that they both knew the other still had it, what does that mean?_ _If she kept the tattoo, what else did she keep?_ All these thoughts and questions and more went through his mind at the time. 

“I- I don’t know, honestly. I guess I didn’t really want to. It was-”  _ it was too special to me to remove.  _ “I don’t know. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I made the decision. It felt wrong to take it off when it’s meant to be permanent.”  _ Even if we weren’t.  _ Dany nodded again. He wanted to ask her the same question, why she hadn’t gotten it off, but he refrained from doing so. He knew she would probably be more truthful drunk, but he wasn’t going to take advantage of her drunken state. 

At that moment, Dany took another huge drink from her glass, downing and gulping it all until it was empty. 

“One more, Tormund!” She called out to him, who was on the other side of the bar tending to a customer. He turned her way and gave her a thumbs-up to show that it was on his way. Jon looked at his own drink, the ale only about a quarter drinken. He decided that he had enough drinking for the night, and opted to order some water for himself instead. If Dany decided to completely intoxicate herself, he needed to make sure she was safe and got home safely later. When her drink came, she took another big gulp. 

“Dany, I think you need to slow down there,” he looked at her concerningly   
  


“I think you need to mind your own business,” was her sassy retort to him. He could only snort, taking a sip out of his water. Once she placed her glass back down, she looked at him again. 

“Jon?”   


  
“Yes?” He answered her, drawing out the word. He could only imagine the things that might come out of her mouth. He could only hope it wouldn’t be anything about the past. 

“If you were never challenged to that stupid,  _ stupid _ bet, would you still have dated me?” 

And there it was. 

The question that was once in his mind too. 

And with the question comes an answer that he was scared of. He wants to say yes, that he would’ve found her somehow, someway and they still would’ve fallen in love and their relationship would be successful and they’d be together right now, and  _ he’d  _ be her fiancé instead. But the truth was,  _ he didn’t know.  _ And the brutal truth? He doesn’t think he would have. Because as much as Jon wants to say that  _ yes, he would have, _ the past him, the former him, would not have batted an eye in the direction toward a girl like she had been. She had been a shy and quiet thing, and he was surrounded by people left and right. The terrible person he once was would not have associated himself with someone like her. And it’s something that Jon hates to his very bones. As much as that stupid bet had ruined his life and their relationship, it had introduced him to what was probably one of the greatest things in his life and changed him for the better. He hated to admit it, he did, but it was the honest-to-gods’ ugly truth. 

Jon isn’t about to say that, however. Maybe he’ll tell her the truth when she’s sober and actually asks him, but he settles with “I don’t know, Dany. I really don’t know.”    


  
Luckily, the answer doesn’t seem to bother her, and she nods instead. “Well, I just wanted you to know that I had a crush on you since our freshman year.” 

Jon looked at her, his eyes wide in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” she answered, popping the ‘p’ at the end. 

How had he never known that? He knows her admittance was meant to be for fun, but it only makes him feel guilty. He’d played her, and she’s had feelings for him for years before they actually met. He looked at her, and how much of a contrast she was to her former self and current one. She looked carefree and relaxed. His heart clenches not for the first time that night or ever since he met her again.  _ If I could go back, if only I could go back I would fix everything Dany. For you, for me, for us.  _ But he wasn’t a time traveler. And if being her friend was as close as he could get to her again, he’ll settle for it. It was better than being the one she despises. 

  
  
  


Soon enough, Dany had finished her current drink and was about to flag Tormund down for another one, when he took her hand and brought it down to the table, disabling her from getting his friend’s attention. 

  
“You don’t need another drink Dany.” She was completely wasted as far as he could see, so much so that he wasn’t even looking him in the eyes properly. 

“Yess I dooo,” she whined, trying to lift her hand back up under Jon’s own hand. She pouted, then lifted her other one up, smirking at him evilly. He caught her other hand as well, bringing both hands into one hand of his and pulled it down to her lap. 

“No. more,” he emphasised the words. She pouted again.  _ Stop looking so adorable,  _ he wanted to tell her. “C’mon. Let’s get you home, yeah?”   


  
“One mooore Jonnn.” 

“No. That was your last one. Any more and you’re either gonna pass out or throw up, and I don’t want either of that.” 

“You’re soo meannn.”

He yelled over at Tormund to place both his and Dany’s drinks on his tab. Jon tried to get her to stand up, but she stubbornly tried to root herself in the stool. He looked at her disappointingly. 

“Don’t make me carry you. I will haul you out of this bar over my shoulder if I have to.” He whispered to her. It seemed Dany wasn’t in the mood to find out whether he was true to his word or not, as she stood up, allowing Jon to easily lead her through the growing crowd of people in the bar. Once they were outside in the fresh cold of the night, he turned to her, however, keeping a firm hand on one of her own to make sure she didn’t run off.

“Dany, what’s your address?” He was going to drive her home himself, not trusting a random Uber driver. There were some sick people out there, and a drunk woman incapable of handling herself properly and alone did not mix well with those people. It was especially late at night, so Jon was just going to do it himself. 

“Hm?” She looked at him, her body swaying slightly. 

“Your address. What is it?”    


  
“My wha’?” 

“You-”  _ She’s way too drunk.  _ “Do you remember where you live?” He asked her, close to her so that she could hear and maybe understand him better. 

“I live in an apartment sillyy. You know thaaat.” 

Jon only snorted at her responses.  _ Okay, no help there. _ He was going to ask Dany for her phone to call Missandei, but he realized how late it was at night. Or early morning technically.  _ It’s too late to call her friends, I don’t trust Uber drivers, and I don’t know where she lives. _ To Jon, there was only one best option left. 

“Alright Dany, let’s go.”    


  
“Where we goin’?”   


  
“I’m taking you to my place. You’re sleeping there for the night.” By the time he’d finished drinking, he wasn’t nearly as intoxicated as she was, and he could probably get by without being pulled over. 

He led her to his car, and once he made sure she was safely secured in the passenger seat, he quickly jogged to the driver’s side and started the engine, driving off. 

“Jon? I feel sick.” Dany admitted. Jon’s eyes widened as he tried to keep his eyes on the road, refraining from glancing to make sure she was alright. She was curled up on his seat, her legs brought up to her chest and her head swaying.  _ Oh please don’t throw up in my car. I won’t hold it against you or be mad but I’d rather you not. _

“Hold on there. We’re almost there Dany, love, please just hold on a bit longer.” 

It was several seconds and a couple turns later when Jon realized his mistake. He’d called her ‘love’. A bunch of different curse words flew through his mind at once as he internally panicked. He’d completely crossed the line. It hadn’t even registered in his head to say it. His mouth was just coming up with random words for him to spit out, it seemed. It calmed Jon down by a bit when he realized Dany would very likely not remember him saying that, but he cursed himself for even saying it in the first place.  _ Too far Jon. Stay in your lane! _

A couple minutes later, and they had arrived at the parking lot of his condo complex. Quickly, Jon unbuckled himself from his seat and jogged over to Dany’s side and helped her out of her seat belt. 

“Can you stand?” He asked her, her head hanging slightly loose. 

“I think so,” she grumbled. He locked his car and kept a steady hand on her, so should she fall, she won’t hurt herself hitting the ground. They walked inside and made it to the elevator, where he pressed his floor number. She swayed forward a tiny bit, and Jon feared she was going to collapse any second now. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he glanced down from the corner of his eyes to see her. His heart had started beating harder at the contact of her head resting on him, just as she’d done before.  _ She’s drunk Jon. _ Finally the elevator doors opened, and he carefully led her out, walking beside her as he slowly walked them to his door. 

“Hold on right there,” he told her, letting her lean against the wall as he got his keys out. Once the door was unlocked, he carefully pulled her inside, locking the door securely behind them. 

Just as he was about to slide the latch on the lock of the door, Dany let out the loudest shriek behind him, so loud it caused him to jump slightly. His heart pounded due to fright, that maybe someone had broken into his condo. When he turned around, Dany was so close up against him, he couldn’t see at first what she had screamed at. However, all his fears dissipated when he saw who the culprit of her terror (and his) was. 

_ I completely forgot about my own dog.  _

There, Ghost stood, his menacing red eyes glowing towards them. His head was cocked to the side as he panted, looking at Dany curiously. 

“Jon? Jon, Jon,  _ Jon _ ! There’s a monster!  _ That’s a monster! _ You have a fucking monster in your house!” She screamed into his ear, pushing herself up even closer into him. 

“Dany, hey, woah calm down and stop yelling for a second.” He’s pretty sure it’s too late for a warning. Her first scream must have woken up his entire complex. _ Not looking forward to those noise complaints. _ “Dany, this is my dog. This is Ghost, he won’t hurt you.”    


  
He turned to his dog. “Ghost, down!” he commanded his dog, who obeyed, getting down completely, his red eyes peering up at them. “Dany, here, hold out your hand, let him smell you. He won’t bite, I promise.” 

Dany did as she was told, holding out a slow, shaky hand towards Ghost, who took his time sniffing it. Ghost sat up then, causing Dany to jump a little. Sitting up all the way, Ghost nearly towered this petite and tiny woman. He sniffed her some more, and once he deemed her acceptable, licked her hand and walked away. 

“See? Not so bad.” 

Dany sneered at him, causing him to laugh. He almost forgot why he had brought her home in the first place, when he remembered.  _ Right, she’s drunk.  _ As if he needed a reminder, watching her stand still, looking at his dog in amazement while rocking and swaying back and forth. 

“Okay, uh, how ‘bout you stay here, and I go get the bedroom situated, yeah?” She nodded, and he went inside his bedroom to fix his things up, putting away old and discarded, dirty clothes. Once his room was fixed up for her, he went back outside, only to find Dany laying on his wooden floor on her stomach in front of Ghost who was facing her, giving her face tons of licks while she whispered incoherent things to his dog. He selfishly saved the picture of this into his memory, not being able to resist how cute and endearing they both looked at the moment. 

“Alright Dany. Room’s set up.” He helped her up from the floor and into the room, letting her sit down on the bed. “Do you still feel sick?”   


  
She shook her head. “Not anymore. Where’re you sleeping?” She asked, pouting as she glanced to his bed. 

“I’ll just be on the couch with Ghost.” She frowned at that, but said nothing. “I’m gonna go get you a glass of water, ‘kay?” He went outside to get her water, and when he returned he found her in his room  _ pantsless. _

“Oh- _ gods _ -uh. What’re- what’re you doing Dany?” He asked her, turning around and facing away from her as soon as he saw. 

“I’m not sleeping in jeans  _ dummy _ . I can get under the covers.” 

_ Please do.  _ He didn’t dare turn around until she called out to him, that she was indeed under the blankets. He went to the side she was sitting at ( _ his side of the bed) _ and sat down and gave her the glass, which she took a modest drink from. He’ll need to remember to leave some aspirin on the bedside table for her to take in the morning. He carefully set the rest of the glass down on the table, then looked at her. He could tell she was tired from the way her eyes were dropping, though she forced herself to keep them open. 

“You should head to sleep now. Have a good night Dany.” He said. Just as he was about to lift himself off the bed, she grabbed his hand, causing him to look down at her. 

“Jon? Thank you,” she said through half closed eyes. “You’re so good to me.” 

He smiled at her. “Anytime.” 

“Why couldn’t it be you I’m engaged to? I think you’re better than Daario… hm, good night Jon.” And with that, she let go of his hand turned away, falling fast asleep, leaving Jon in shock. He got up slowly, not wanting to wake her up and closed the door behind him softly and made his way to the couch, with Ghost beating him to it. 

_ “Why couldn’t it be you I’m engaged to? I think you’re better than Daario.” _

He doesn’t think he’s ever been this speechless since they’ve reunited again. But then again, he never would have thought she’d say something like _that._ _That_ was- he couldn’t explain. He had no idea how he should react. Something inside him fluttered, and his heart beat erratically at hearing her say that. 

_ She’s drunk, Jon! She didn’t mean that, she doesn’t know what she’s saying. She’s drunk and in the morning she’ll barely remember anything from tonight.  _

It’s what he keeps repeating to himself as he gets ready for bed and turns off the lights. It’s what he tells himself as he lies wide awake on the couch, thinking about how the woman who had been the girl of his dreams was sleeping just a few feet away from him, the only thing separating them being distance, the door and some inches of walls. Dany was  _ here, _ sleeping in  _ his  _ condo, in  _ his  _ bed. But the dark, selfish part of himself complained that this wasn’t the way he wanted. That dark part of him, the devil on his shoulder, made him resent the fact that she was  _ here,  _ in  _ his  _ place, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it, because she was engaged to someone else and would probably never see him in the way he still sees her. 

_ Why couldn’t it be me, Dany? Because I was an idiot, who took everything he had for granted.  _

Jon thinks back to their time at the bar, before Dany had completely wasted herself. They talked and he thinks that had there been no alcohol involved, they could’ve talked all night without realizing it. And it’s a dangerous thing, he knows, to be thinking of her this way. The way her hair shone in the lights of the bar. The way her violet eyes seemed to somehow glow little specks of gold in the light. How casual she’d dressed but yet still managed to look so well put together. How her flushed cheeks would go even redder when he made her blush. He doesn’t gloss over how easily she’s accepted him back, because he still feels like he doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve her kindness. He doesn’t deserve to get to know her again. He should have lost the right to be able to feel so close with her again, spotting all the ways that made her the same girl she’d once been in high school and learning the new things about her that changed her into the woman she now was. He thinks about all the fun little bantering they have, teasing each other playfully. When had another women treated him as Dany had? Like he wasn’t just made up of flesh, bones, money and made for sex? When had someone else been able to change him into a person better than the one he was before? The answer? It was no one  _ but her. _ It was as if Dany held a magic wand in her hand, and he was the subject and no else could ever dream to hold so much power over him than her.

No matter how many times he tells himself it isn’t right to think of her this way anymore, he still continues to do it anyway. And gods help him, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to stop. The wise choice in this situation was to distance himself from her, to tell her that  _ just a friendship _ between them isn’t going to be possible, not for Jon. It’s a difficult decision for him to make. Distance himself from Dany, but protect his heart, or stay only as her friend, and break it. The amount of anguish he feels, knowing that no matter what, he was going to be losing either way. 

So he doesn’t choose. Instead, he begs his heart to stop. To stop beating so hard whenever she’s around, or whenever she does something remotely adorable, or look so beautiful. 

He hates that he’s tried to save himself for the right girl. He knew in his heart, that the ‘right one’ wasn’t his. She didn’t belong to him, not anymore. But despite the troubles she may be going through with someone else, he hopes she’ll be happy. He has a feeling she will. He won’t do anything to try and intervene, to stop her from reaching the happiness she deserves. He won’t allow himself to hurt her again and he thinks she’ll be fine with anyone but him. He’s already failed her. He’s failed his promise to her Uncle. He feels like her Uncle Aemon is up there somewhere looking down at Jon with such contempt and disgust.  _ I’m so sorry. _

It was as if he was tied to her emotionally. The moment he met her for the second time, something inside him knew he would be in big trouble again. 

_ “Well, I just wanted you to know that I had a crush on you since our freshman year.”  _

Was that the gods way of confirming that this was all some sick joke on him? She pined for him years before he even acknowledged her. And now? Now, he was nothing but a pining friend to her who she couldn’t feel the same for.

_ You gotta stop that _ , he tells his own heart.  _ You can’t go there. Please save yourself.  _ Jon is practically begging his heart and soul to stop torturing him.  _ I can’t fall for her again, I can’t.  _

But what amount of begging does he think will change anything? He’s already fallen. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways, that's over. I was kind of on a 'streak' with updating this week because I was actually responsible and wrote out the chapters in advanced. Can't say the same for the others lmao. The outline for the last chapter is almost finished, but I had to do some switches in other chapters because there were events that didn't make much sense in the time order I put them in. Chapter 29 is like 1/4 finished, don't know when I'll be able to get that out. Possibly Wednesday or Thursday depending on how things go for me. Thank you so, so, SO much for enjoying this story, please know I'm not trying to say that I hate when people are too invested, that's not what I'm saying. I just want y'all to sit back and enjoy it as it unfolds. Thank you guys for reading!


	29. Swore that it felt right but was I wrong, is this where I’m supposed to be at all?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany deal with the morning after, leading to potential problems down the road. Daario comes back with surprising news. Dany is left confused and lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s a Dany/Daario scene here but it’s not exactly a ‘happy’ one. Read at your own risk. Look for the asterisk breaks. 
> 
> hope you like it !

The first thing that Dany is aware of as soon as she wakes up is the  _ killer _ headache she has. Her head is pounding and throbbing and she feels like she’s ready to explode any minute now. She groans, trying to move in her bed, feeling like absolute shit. She vaguely remembers last night. She was at the bar, drinking by herself, some guy started harassing her and Jon stepped in and they ended up drinking together and-

_ Jon.  _

_ Where’s Jon?  _

She’d managed to conclude that she was currently having a morning after hangover, which explains the reason why her head was trying to kill her and her stomach felt uneasy. She moved around in her bed, only very aware of the fact that it felt  _ different.  _ When had she changed the bed sheets?    
  
Dany opened her eyes very slowly, very thankful for the fact that no sunlight was coming through and the room was as dark as possible. She closed her eyes again, nuzzling her face into the bed and groaned, stretching her body out. Except this time, her eyes flew open. 

_ This is not my bed.  _

The give away was the fact that it  _ smelled  _ different. Every bed had the distinct smell of the person sleeping in it, and  _ this  _ was not it. It smelt more… calming and comforting, but still quite masculine, and yet, not overly strong. It smelt strangely familiar.

Dany shot up from the bed, trying her best to ignore the pounding in her head that seemed to increase as she did so. Looking around, the room was still dark, but there was a bedside table next to the bed, and thankfully, a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. She scrambled over, reaching for the aspirin. She struggled with it for a second, but managed to open it, and quickly downed a pill with some water. The water seemed to do some good, helping her body rehydrate. Once she got a hold of  _ some  _ of her motor skills, she sat up, leaning against the  _ wooden  _ headboard. She was  _ definitely  _ not in her bed. If this wasn’t her apartment,  _ where was she?  _

  
  


_ Wait- _

Dany threw the covers over her, revealing her body. She sighed heavily in relief to see that she was  _ not _ naked, except for missing some pants, but she was still in the shirt and underwear she’d worn last night.  _ What happened last night? _ She backtracked a bit. 

_ Okay, I was with Jon, we had some drinks, we were talking. I must’ve gotten very drunk. But what happened to Jon?  _

The only logical reasoning she could gather was that she was currently sleeping in Jon’s bed. He’d taken her to his apartment for the night, because she knew he’d never leave her alone. But why didn’t he just call her an Uber? 

_ I was sleeping in Jon’s bed. _

The realization hit her like a bucket of cold water.  _ Oh my gods, please, please,  _ please, _ tell me I didn’t say or do anything embarrassing.  _

Dany got up carefully, her legs hanging over the mattress and stepped on the floor. The wood was cold beneath her feet, as she looked around and tried to squint in the dark for her pants. Once she’d found them, she put them on and headed outside, needing to talk to the man who’d brought her back to his home. 

She opened the door carefully, and found him leaning against his kitchen counter, a cup of coffee in hand. His back was facing towards her, so he didn’t see her coming out. A thousand different questions floated in her brain.  _ Why didn’t he take me to my place instead? Why was I sleeping in HIS bed? What happened last night?  _

Dnay cleared her throat, gathering his attention. He turned quickly, and smiled at her, though for some reason she couldn’t help but feel it was a forced one. 

“You’re awake. How are you feeling?” He asked her, setting his cup down and taking a few steps closer to her. 

“Like shit, honestly,” she laughed, hoping it would break the tension, though her voice was still kind of croaky. “But the aspirin and water really helped. Thank you for that.” 

He shook his head. “It’s no problem. After last night, I felt like you’d need it.” 

Her face fell a bit, as she pondered her question. “What happened last night?”   


  
His own face fell as well. “You don’t remember?”    


  
“I remember talking with you about some stuff. Uh,” she frowned, struggling as she tried hard to remember the last thing they talked about. To her utter embarrassment, she remembers vaguely asking him a question.

_ “If you were never challenged to that stupid, stupid bet, would you still have dated me?” _

It went something like that, she thought. And she remembered his answer too. How unsure he’d been. Dany cringed in embarrassment.  _ Why, why, WHY did I have to ask that?  _ What was she  _ thinking?! _ More importantly, what was  _ Jon  _ thinking? Did he think her too weird for asking?  _ Gods, please tell me that’s the worst thing I said.  _ She doesn’t think she’ll be able to live with herself if she found out she said anything worse than  _ that _ . 

“I-uh- I remember asking you some questions.  _ Weird questions, _ ” she muttered the last part under her breath. Jon nodded, but he didn’t say anything. 

“How did I get here? I mean- why did you take me here?”  _ Here, _ being his place. 

“You were way too drunk to tell me your address and it was too late to call Missandei or anyone else. Oh, and I didn’t really trust an Uber driver to take you back home, which circles back to you not being able to know your own address so an Uber wasn’t really a good idea in the first place. I thought bringing you back here was the best option.” He chuckled lightly, then shrugged his shoulders, looking almost apologetic. 

Dany smiled, thinking it sweet of him to bring her back to his place to keep her safe. It warmed her heart that he did so. “I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t mind me crashing on your bed. I could’ve taken the couch. I really don’t think I would’ve minded too much.” 

“No,” he shook his head quickly. “Don’t be sorry. I didn’t mind one bit. You’re fine Dany.” She beamed at him, and it’s only then she notices how close they are to each other, as if the steps they took toward the other completely slipped from her mind. They’re smiling at each other, but they’re broken out of their little trance when she hears light panting behind her, and a wet feeling pressing up against the back of her leg. Quickly, she turns around, and there she is, facing a  _ huge _ white dog with red eyes! Dany’s first instinct was that it was a wolf, and she yelped, jumping up and backing away, only to find herself in Jon’s strong arms, his broad chest that she can  _ feel _ the muscles of flush against her back.

“Woah! Hey, okay, Dany calm down,” she heard behind her, his hands around her upper arms gripping tight. It didn’t stop her from trying to back up even further into him, terrified of whatever  _ that _ was in front of her. “Dany, this is Ghost. This is just my dog, he won’t bite you.” 

Dany’s mind raced as she tried to calm herself down. She was still tense, but as she observed the dog, the way its tongue lolled out, panting, and its head cocked sideways while sitting down, it didn’t seem as much of a threat to her as it did before.  _ Doesn’t make the red eyes any less scary though.  _ Ghost. This was Ghost. This was Jon’s dog that she’d seen from a picture he’d shown her before. At this, she finally calmed a bit, relaxing just enough that Jon let go of her. 

“You two technically already met last night.” He said, going around her so that he was no longer behind her. 

“We did?” She asked, shocked. “Oh gods, how did I react?” Dany had a feeling that if she was terrified looking at Ghost right now,  _ sober, _ she could only imagine how a drunk Dany would react. 

Jon looked almost sheepish, which confirmed her fears. “Pretty loudly. I don’t think I’ll be very surprised if I get a noise complaint. Or tinnitus.” 

Dany’s eyes widened, embarrassed of her own actions last night. But she couldn’t help but smile wide, a small snicker coming out of her before she started laughing completely, joined by Jon. She should feel guilty, and maybe a part of her did, but just the way he’d said it made her crack up. 

Eventually, once her laughter subsided, she stopped and apologized. “Sorry for that.”    


  
“S’alright. It was pretty funny now that I think of it.” 

Dany nodded, then turned again to Ghost, who looked at her with perked ears and curious eyes. Cautiously, she held out a hand for him to sniff, which he did. Once he’d gotten a good whiff of her, Dany carefully placed a hand on the side of his neck, petting softly his white fur. He seemed to enjoy it for a second, and once she stood back up, he walked away. Dany smiled at the huge dog, able to see how it was probably just a little puppy stuck inside a huge wolf-looking creature. Once she was finally done admiring the furry creature, she turned her attention back to Jon, who smiled at her. She returned the expression, and for a second it was just the two of them, there in his living room looking at each other, her heart beating like some kind of drum underneath her chest. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if she’d said anything weird last night, but before she could, her stomach growled so loud she thought it could’ve been mistaken as a soft purr from Ghost. Jon chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Sorry, you must be really hungry, I should’ve asked. I don’t have much right now, will a granola bar work?” He asked, her moving to his kitchen and dug inside the pantry, holding a few bars out. Dany nodded. 

“That should be enough for now. Thank you.”    


  
He handed her the three granola bars, which she took graciously. She tore open one package, chewing and munching on it while watching him take small sips from his coffee. 

Sitting there silently, with no conversation between them and things being peaceful, it almost felt… domestic. It reminded her of those husbands and wives in the books and movies, where they didn’t need conversation to fill in the silence all the time. It wasn’t like this with Daario, where as soon as things got quiet, the tension in the room increased. Sure, there were times when she and Jon had their awkward moments, they were expected. But sitting here, it made Dany long for a life like that. And as she watched him, standing in front of her, leaning on the counter behind him and looking at nothing in particular behind her, it made her remember more of the memories they’d made before. She remembered sitting on a couch with him as he absentmindedly stroked her hair. She remembered wrapping her arms around his strong body, resting her head over where his heart was. There was a pang in her heart as she looked at him right now while thinking of those memories. She shouldn’t be thinking of such things, but her heart overruled her head.  _ I want that again. _

Dany was surprised to hear herself say such a thing.  _ Where had that come from? _ Her heart beated thunderously again beneath her chest, a mix of fear and confusion coursing through her. It only seemed to increase when she set her eyes on him again, on his messy, curly hair, his wrinkled shirt and the way it clung to his arms, the way his eyebrows furrowed as she could tell he was thinking long and hard about something. Dany wondered whether he’d ever thought of the same things she’s thinking of. If he ever thought about their time in high school whenever he saw her, just as she did him. She wondered if he ever got the same  _ absurd _ thoughts she’d gotten, such as the one she’d gotten just a minute or two ago.  _ Most likely not. _ Dany was sure Jon was able to handle his own feelings much better than she did, and he’d likely ceased any affection for her anymore. 

But the question that still lingered in her mind couldn’t wait, and before she knew it, she had asked him. “Did I do anything weird last night?”    


  
Both his eyebrows raised up as he listened to her question. He set his mug of coffee down, and looked at her. “Well, I guess it depends how you define ‘weird’. You were on your stomach on the floor whispering to Ghost about some stuff.” 

Dany cringed,  _ hard. _ “I did?” That maybe wasn’t  _ as  _ weird as she thought, but still. The thought of Jon stumbling in on her doing that made her blush with embarrassment. “Did I say anything weird too?”

He froze, his eyes suddenly looking down to avoid looking into her own, and Dany immediately knew the answer to that. Her heart began to pick up a faster pace as she wondered what she had said. 

“I did, didn’t I? What was it?”   


  
He glanced up to her, but when he straightened back up again he shook his head. “N-nothin’. Didn’t say anything too weird for someone drunk.” 

Her eyebrow arched as she looked at him. She could tell he was lying as he fumbled with himself, still refusing to look at her. 

  
“I know I said something. What was it?”   


  
“Nothing. You didn’t say anything. I don’t know what you’re trying to get from this.” 

Dany frowned as he took his coffee again, taking a last drink from it before finishing it, and made his way to the sink to wash it. She couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed that he wasn’t telling her anything, and that he was obviously lying. They both knew he was lying, so why decide to keep the information to himself? Dany knew it was something serious for him to close up like this. But torturing him with questions wouldn’t do anything helpful, so she sighed, perhaps a bit more dramatic than she intended. 

“Right. Well… I need to go home and change for work. I’ll see you later.” 

She saw him numbly nod as she got up from the chair, going back into his room to see if she had anything else of hers she needed before leaving. 

**_______**

By the time Dany had made it to work, her hangover had thankfully subsided, and she was able to stand up or look at a digital screen without feeling dizzy anymore. She’d gone to her place quickly to freshen up and get a new change of clothes before heading to the office. She’d gotten some questions on why she was a bit later than usual, but thankfully since she was usually always on time to work, the questions were very minimal. 

However, it wasn’t the questions that were the problem. No, it was the memories that started to trickle back into her head from last night as she worked away at her desk. 

_ “Jon? Thank you. You’re so good to me.”  _

_ “Anytime.” _

_ “Why couldn’t it be you I’m engaged to? I think you’re better than Daario…” _

She didn’t think it was possible, but her heart seemed to both freeze and beat erratically as she remembered the words she’d said. 

She remembered everything, from him asking for her address, to her screaming when she first saw Ghost, to him  _ taking care of her.  _ He’d taken her back to his own home just so she would be safe. He had looked out for her and she repaid him by saying  _ that. _ How could she say such things? It wasn’t right, Dany thought. This couldn’t be any fair to Jon. What was he thinking when she’d said that? 

_ Gods, was that why he couldn’t look me in the eye? Does he hate me now? _

It was beyond Dany as to why she would ever open her mouth to say things like that, even if she was drunk. Why was she even drunk in the first place? She hated over drinking and being intoxicated, and watching other people do the same. She’d never gotten completely wasted like that before. Tipsy, yes, but never more than that. It was always in her beliefs to never get past a couple of drinks. All because her experience with people over drinking had completely ruined it for her. Her own father died from it for R’hllor’s sake, why had she broken her own vow to herself? It was only supposed to be a glass or two and she’d leave, but as soon as she sat with Jon, all rational thoughts flew from her head and she just wanted to stay  _ there _ and talk to him, preferably all night long. 

Bottom line was, she drank too much and now she’s possibly ruined her growing friendship with her own ex boyfriend by reminding him of the exact things they agreed to put behind them. But that wasn’t the worst part. Inside Dany, deep behind the walls she’d set up for herself, seemed to be like some sort of voice that contradicted everything her mind believed in. 

Maybe she was just confused. Perhaps it was just the stress she’d been feeling lately trying to juggle things with her personal life and work life and trying to get as much as she can done with the merge so that when Robb and Marge come back, everything should be smooth sailing from there. But Dany wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t that stupid, young girl she’d once been. She knew that this feeling _ ,  _ whatever _ this feeling  _ she had was, was dangerous. The way her heartbeat seemed to pick up its pace when she saw Jon, or even just texted him, it was incredibly _ dangerous. _ How unwilling she’d been to leave the bar last night just so she could have more time to talk to him despite knowing she shouldn’t have stayed much longer,  _ that  _ was dangerous. 

But she kept brushing it off.  _ That part _ of the past was long gone, and she needed to remember herself, to check her place. None of this was any fair to Jon, not what she said to him last night, not the thoughts she was thinking, and certainly not the emotions she was feeling. She believed that he had moved on completely from her, so why couldn’t Dany do the same? She was in another relationship, wasn’t she? Shouldn’t that be the ultimate factor that ruled out her having feelings for another man, the reason she shouldn’t be feeling this way? 

Gods, she just admitted it to herself too. It was one thing to feel it and dismiss, but it was a whole different thing to be feeling it  _ and  _ to actually acknowledge it. It was then that Dany knew she was floating in  _ very  _ dangerous waters. 

*********

Several days later had passed, Dany not once having been in contact with Jon since she’d left his condo. She hated to admit it, but it was killing her to not pick up her phone and shoot at least a short apology text to him. She’d been left to her own devices to deal with herself, and she  _ still _ could not figure out whatever it was she was feeling. Well, she had an idea of what she was feeling for him, but the thought of it was what messed up her mind. Being engaged to someone else while feeling something for another man, who just so happened to be her ex boyfriend had left Dany’s mental state in a bit of a disarray lately. She kept telling herself that it was only because Daario was gone that she’d been feeling this way. Maybe when he returned, things would become clearer for her. It was all the hope she could hold on to.

  
  


She was currently sitting at her kitchen counter, typing away on her laptop while glancing every once in a while at the document beside it. Robb and Marge had finally returned to Winterfell a couple days ago, and Dany had to fight the urge she had to ask Jon how he was feeling. She’d kept in close contact with the couple, emailing back and forth important documents they had received from Marge’s grandmother in Highgarden as Dany took the information she needed from it. Things were going along quite smoothly, and she predicted that if things were kept up at this pace, with a little bit more left to go, they’d be able to finally merge the Stark and Tyrell companies. Dany had just received an email notification from Marge regarding the edited papers she needed when she heard a sound at her front door, and seconds later, the door opened, revealing Daario. 

“Daario? You’re back already?” She’d asked him, not moving from her seat in the kitchen as he dropped his duffle bag on the floor. 

“Try not to sound too excited there,” he said sarcastically, prompting Dany to try and not roll her eyes. She bit her lip, remembering the conversation she knew they needed to have regarding his actions about the dinner she had with her friends. 

“We need to talk.”    


  
“I have some exciting news.” 

They both spoke at the same time, catching Dany off guard. He frowned, looking at her. 

“Talk about what?”   


  
She squinted at him.  _ Did he completely forget about our argument? _ “About the argument we had. The-the post you saw from Missy? When you said-”    


  
“Oh, yeah,  _ that. _ Look, Daenerys, I apologize for that, I really do. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that, you can be friends with whom you want, I just want you to be careful. Now, about my news.”    


  
Her eyebrows seemed to wound together as she stared at him in disbelief.  _ That was it? _ He was just going to give a half-assed apology and move on? As if it was nothing? How could he brush it off aside like that, when it was so much more important than that? He’d tried to control her, for fuck’s sake! Was he just expecting her to give up and move on from it? 

However, she had no time to react when he continued speaking.

“So, I know I’ve been gone a lot more than before, and I’m sorry about that. But there’s a good reason for that. We’re getting married in 12 days!” 

_ What _

It seemed to be the only word in her mind as she blinked at him. She stared, dumbfounded as he smiled at her. 

“Aren’t you happy?” 

_ Happy?  _ Was she supposed to be happy?! “H-how? I don’t understand, we never-”    


  
“I managed to find a friend who knew a wedding planner and we coordinated together so that the process wasn’t so long. I know you’ve been worried about me being gone so much but it was for this reason. I mean, yes, work was still pretty busy, but the free time I had at the camp gave me the opportunity to finally finish the details. The venue’s gonna be in this really nice hotel suite I found. They’re letting us rent the place, can you believe that? There won’t be many guests, just some of your close friends and mine, I’ll let you invite yours. Your dress is also ready so you don’t need to worry about having to go out and find one. I found one that I think would look amazing on you.” 

He finished his rambling and looked at her, at her open mouthed, shocked expression. “You’re excited, right?”

_ Excited?! _ No, she was far from anything  _ happy! _ How could he do this? How-  _ why _ would he do this? He’d gone behind her back to plan an event that should’ve involved the  _ both _ of them. She didn’t get a single say in anything, and now, they’re supposed to be getting married in  _ 12 fucking days?! _ No, Dany was anything  _ but  _ happy. 

“No. No, I’m not excited! What the hell, Daario?” She snapped at him, his face falling as he looked at her. 

“I thought this was what you wanted. For me to start planning-”    


  
“For  _ us _ to plan it! I wanted to be able to actually sit down with you and discuss it! Not-not  _ this, _ whatever you did.”    


  
“I don’t understand. I thought you’d be happy with this surprise.”    


  
“Oh yeah, no I’m _surprised_. But I’m _not fucking_ happy! How did you even manage to pay for all this?” She’d asked him incredulously, knowing that even a cheap wedding ceremony would be far past his salary.

He rubbed the back of his neck, wincing, not looking at her. “I put it under your account. I thought maybe your trust fund would be able to pay it off, but I’ll help you if I can-”    
  


She shook her head, effectively cutting him off. 

Dany’s emotions whirled around inside of her. She didn’t know whether to feel angry or sad that he’d done this. She was leaning more towards angry as she thought about the fucking  _ audacity _ he had to have to be able to do all of this behind her back  _ and  _ expect her to pay for all of it. 

“Look, okay, I’m sorry. I probably should’ve asked you, but I thought you’d like this surprise. That you didn’t have to do any work at all and for me to plan it.”    


  
“Gods, how fucking stupid are you?! I wanted  _ us  _ to do it together, Daario! This is  _ our  _ wedding and I didn’t even get a single fucking say in it!” She yelled at him, her chest heaving as her temper flared. 

“You do get a say! I didn’t invite any guests on your side because I-”   


  
“Oh my gods, just stop. Stop, save it.”    


  
She had no idea what else to say other than to yell or curse at him. She grabbed her laptop and made for the bedroom, slamming the door loudly behind her and locking, unable to stand looking at his face right now. Dany inhaled and exhaled hard, not knowing what to do. She didn’t know what was worse, him doing everything and not letting her have a voice in it, or him expecting her to pay for all of it. She supposed it didn’t matter when it was all the same. 

This wasn’t what she had expected, far from it. She expected for him to come home and for them to discuss everything that was going on between them, not whatever just happened. And the worse part of it all was that she couldn’t do anything about it. It was too late to change anything. And while she wasn’t able to voice her own opinion on things, there was one person Dany knew that she’d be able to voice anything to. 

***********

It was one of Dany’s day offs and she’d taken advantage of it to take Missy to a small deli place that wasn’t too far from her apartment, needing the time away from her own home and to talk to her best friend about everything that happened. They already placed their order and sat down, both opposite each other. 

“You’re joking.” Missy stated, unable to believe that it was true. 

“I’m not.” Dany shook her head. She just told her everything about Daario’s ‘news’ to her.

Missy gaped at her, not knowing what to say. It was a great representation of how Dany had reacted as well. “Oh my gods, that’s awful! I can’t believe he’d do that! Dany, I’m so sorry,” Missy reached for Dany’s hand, holding it comfortingly between her own. Dany gave her a small, sad smile. 

“I just wished he’d bothered asking me what I thought about it too.”    


  
“I can talk to him if you’d like. I know there’s a few things I’d like to say to him.” Missy told her, and something in her voice told Dany that she was being totally, completely serious. 

She shook her head. “No. It’s too late to do anything now.”    


  
“It is not! You can still do something. He’s making you pay the bill, isn’t he? So you can choose to hold off on it if you want. You still have a choice Dany.” 

Does she, though? Does she really have a choice in this matter? Everything was all set up to go, which only made her believe that it was too late to change anything. 

“Dany, do you remember what I told you? You don’t deserve to be treated like this. You have to speak up about it if you really don’t want this to happen. You can’t let this happen to you.” 

Did she want this to happen? All her life, Dany just wanted to finally have a home. To have a family to come home to. She wanted to be able to build a family, in place of the family she never had growing up. She dreamed of having little children of her own running to her as she comes home from work. She dreamed of having a loving husband welcoming her home with open arms. Since her family had died, Dany had forced herself to believe that all her hardships would be worth it in the end. She wanted to believe that after all the people she’s lost, all the tears she’d shed, they’d be worth it, that one day, years from now, she’ll be able to look upon her past as she snuggled with her family on a couch watching a movie. Sometimes her mind liked to wander (when had it not?), and half those times, she often wondered how her own children would look. Perhaps she would have a little girl, hair as bright and silver as her own with stormy, grey eyes, and a little boy with her own violet eyes but dark, raven black hair-

_ Wait _

_ Daario did  _ not _ have grey eyes or raven black hair.  _

But there was only one person she knew of who had both. And more often than not, she found herself dreaming of said person, more than she would like to admit. And it  _ worried  _ her. She thought it might have just been a manifestation of some sort of her confused feelings.  _ Feelings. Is that what I’m calling this now? Is this really me admitting to myself that it’s real? It can’t be true, it can’t… _

“Dany!” 

Dany was startled with Missy calling for her attention. She’d apparently zoned out enough that she hadn’t noticed their orders arriving. Missy looked at her, and she wasn’t sure exactly what look she had in her eyes. 

“Okay, that’s it. I’m talking to him tomorrow, he needs to be dealt with.”    


  
“No, Missy,” Dany calmly told her, cutting her off. “There’s no need for that.” She didn’t need someone else to fix her problems for her. Instead, she’ll force herself to be happy. Because this was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To finally get married and start the next chapter of her life. Perhaps it was just her own brain playing tricks with her by showing her Jon. He certainly had been occupying her thoughts as of late. 

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be fine.” Dany tried to hold back a flinch when she realized how forced out it sounded. If she noticed it, Missy sure as hell noticed as well. But thankfully, her friend didn’t say anything, only keeping her thoughts to herself. It didn’t stop her from looking at Dany though, expression a bit down. “But you’ll be my matron of honor, right? I mean- I probably should’ve asked first, but I guess I was just hoping…”    


  
Missy smiled at her, as warm as the sun. “Of course. You know I’d do anything for you.” Dany returned her warm smile, but before she could get caught up in her emotions, she spilled out. 

“There’s something else.” 

Missy’s eyebrows shot up as Dany admitted to her, causing her to put her deli sandwich down.

Dany took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.  _ Why am I nervous again? _

“You remember when I asked if you wanted to have some drinks and you said no?” Missy nodded her head. 

“Well, I went and apparently Jon was there too. We ended up staying and drinking together and I guess I got so drunk he brought me back to his place for the night.” 

Missy’s eyes seemed to bulge out of her head as Dany said so. “You slept at his place?!” She ducked her head down after a few people looked towards them. “Sorry,” she whispered. 

Dany brushed off her apology. “It’s fine. And I did. He said I couldn’t tell him my own address and it was too late to call you so he took me home.”  _ Home. _

Missy’s eyes were still wide as she inhaled deeply, trying to process this information. “Did… did you do anything?” Her question ended in something that was barely above whisper. 

“No,” Dany shook her head fervently. “We-we didn’t… we didn’t do anything. He slept on his couch and let me have his bed. But that wasn’t really the problem.” 

“Then what is?”   


  
“I think… I think I might have said something terrible. Something that I shouldn’t have. We haven’t talked much the past few days since then, and I guess I’m just scared I ruined our rela- friendship.” 

“And what did you say?” Her question came out slow and drawn out. 

Her nerves started building up inside of her as she tried to explain. “We were just talking about our past and when he brought me back home I- I think I might have said something about him being…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Being what? What did you say to him?”   


  
_ I may have told him I preferred him to Daario. I may have said I wished he was the one I was marrying. I may have just fucked everything up and I don’t know what to do.  _

She panicked as she thought over the exact same thing that had been on repeat since she left him at his place. She hated  _ everything  _ about it, about not knowing what to do or how to feel. 

Suddenly, tears began to fill her eyes as her bottom lip quivered. “I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she admitted, her voice on the verge of cracking. She looked up to Missy who quickly moved to her side of the table. 

“What do you mean, Dany? What’s happening to you?” Missy’s voice was filled with obvious concern.

“Being with and marrying Daario was supposed to make me feel stable, that I could actually have a normal life, but…” Dany couldn’t decide whether to tell Missy the full truth, not because she didn’t trust her, but because she knew it could never be taken back the moment another person learned of it. “Ever since I met Jon again…” 

Dany didn’t dare look into her friend’s eyes, but she could feel the moment Missy knew exactly what she was trying to say, sensing her friend tense beside her. 

“Dany… are you saying…?” 

She could hear the disbelief in her friend’s voice, and Dany couldn’t help but interpret it as her being disappointed in her. She shook her head at herself, keeping her eyes trained to her hands on her lap.

“Are you feeling something for him again?”   


  
“I don’t know!” Dany snapped, but then immediately hung her head low. “I’m sorry.” Her voice came out, sounding almost meek and timid. Gods, now she was yelling at her own best friend, who was only trying to help her. She really was a shit person.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just- I’ve been a mess the past few days. I feel so lost and I don’t know what to do.” She was getting married in nearly 10 days and she was struggling with her own feelings for someone else. What did that say about her? That she truly was a terrible person?

Missy wrapped an arm around Dany’s shoulder, bringing her in for a tight embrace that Dany was extremely thankful for. “I had a feeling something was up when we had dinner together. I could just feel like there was something going on. But I didn’t realize it was to  _ this  _ extent… What’re you planning on doing about it? Does Jon know?” 

“No,” Dany shook her head. “No, I can’t tell him. And,” she took a deep breath in before forcing herself to say it. “I’m not gonna do anything. Maybe-maybe I’m just stressed with things. Now that I know the wedding is soon, I’ve felt all over the place. That’s probably it.” She hoped that if she said it enough times, she’d start to believe it herself. 

“You need to be honest to yourself, Dany.” Missy’s voice came out calm, and it would have been rather soothing had she not been panicking inside her own mind. 

“No. I can’t. I’m not going back, Missandei.” Dany said, her voice deciding to break and crack on the word  _ ‘not’.  _ She couldn’t go back to her feelings, no matter how much she wanted. But the voice, the same voice inside her that liked to talk at the most inopportune times and didn't belong to her own logical brain, whispered once more.  _ I was already falling the moment I saw him.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the misunderstanding from last chapter's note, I truly didn't mean to make anyone feel bad that. Some of you might not like the way I've taken things with this story, and that's okay, it's up to you to make the mature decision on what you decide to do. 
> 
> Also, I'd like many of you to know that this fic (and the next one), Jonerys, and Emilia Clarke (I mean, I'd still stan her regardless of the fandom or not) are the only reason I'm still dealing with this fandom. there's so many toxic and annoying people on this platform. And NO, I am NOT talking about you guys. Those who stuck around reading after chapter 21 and didn't lash out or curse anybody, you're not included there, I love you and thank you for sticking with me. I'm talking about those who like trashing on author's works despite the tags and warnings clearly being conveyed (most of us know what I'm talking about with the recent fics right?). Anyways, enough with that, this story has 3 chapters left. I'm honestly just ready to start writing Jonerys' dates again, I have so many ideas lmao. Thank you for all the kind comments and kudos from last chapter. They're most definitely welcome on this one and all the other ones to come. 
> 
> p.s, I've never had a hangover so I can't really write from experience


	30. I’m the only one who’ll walk across a fire for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robb and Margaery throw a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so for plot purposes, this merge thing won’t be nearly as long as it is in real life. Also because this is fiction. This is a pretty short chapter, but the next one will definitely (at least I hope) make up for it. 
> 
> sorry for any spelling/grammer mistakes

The whole merging process didn’t take nearly as long as Dany had first suspected it to be, but it was a win on all sides, so she wasn’t complaining. With several more meetings with Robb and Marge discussing the necessary logistics, they were finally able to complete the merge process. While it had been some very hard work, she was grateful for the distraction. She was still upset at what Daario had done, but work was able to keep her mind from wandering too much. However, it did add to the stress that she was feeling, as the wedding was now in five days. 

  


She still hadn’t been in contact with Jon since she left his place, and it was beginning to upset her. It stung a bit to see that he didn’t bother ever reaching out to her, but then again, she never reached out to him either. Perhaps she’s truly ruined their friendship for good, and he absolutely hated her. She couldn’t blame him. She just hopes things won’t be so awkward tonight. 

  


Robb and Marge had decided to throw a formal party tonight to celebrate the union of their companies, and she was invited to celebrate with them. It was nothing  _ overly  _ formal per se, just ‘a bunch of people dressing up nice and having some champagnes here and there’, or so as Robb had said. She knew that Jon would most definitely be there tonight, seeing as it was also his company as well. And as she looked in the mirror, making sure her attire looked good and every strand of her hair was curled nicely, Dany told herself she wanted to look good for the occasion. 

  


_ It’s for the occasion, that’s all it is. I am definitely not dressing nice because  _ he’s  _ going to be there. _

  


In all honesty, she shouldn’t care. She should be glad he’s the one that decided to take the initiative and distance himself. Things would be easier this way. 

  


_ But it’s not. _

  


Soon, she’s dressed and ready to go. Dany steps back to take one more look at herself. She currently wore a deep red long sleeve midi dress, which helped to accentuate her curves. Her makeup was kept to a minimal amount, as she usually preferred not to wear so much. She made herself a waterfall braid, making her hair look effortlessly beautiful. Once her entire look is deemed good enough, Dany leaves for the party. 

  
  


It was just as Robb had said, she thought. There wasn’t an outrageous amount of people, but definitely a lot more than she was expecting. They all wore fancy dresses and suits, and many held a flute of champagne in their hands. Dany wandered around a bit, looking for the two hosts of the evening. She tried her best to ignore the looks that some people were definitely throwing to her as she made her way through the crowd. She also declined a few waiters’ offers to take a glass from their tray. She’d already learned her lesson about drinking too much, she wasn’t willing to chance a second time. She cursed the slight flutter in her stomach that was thinking about whether or not Jon would be the one to take her home again.

  


_ Stop that Daenerys!  _

  


Finally, she managed to find the group of people she was looking for. 

  


“Dany! I’m glad you could make it!” Robb greeted her with a smile, with Marge turning around and offering her one as well. She smiled at the couple, nodding her head politely. 

  


“Hey, thank you for the invite.” 

  


Marge shook her head. “Oh please, it was a given for you to come. We wouldn’t have anything to celebrate had it not been for you.”

  


Dany blushed at the praise, trying her best not to seem so bashful as she smiled again. She looked around the room, scanning the crowd. The couple had been talking to who Dany assumed to be some office friends that she didn’t know. 

  


“Oh, Jon will be back soon. He just went to the restroom,” Robb interrupted her ‘scan’ of the room. Dany looked back to him, eyes a bit wide. 

  


“Oh, n-no. I wasn’t- I wasn’t looking for him…” Dany trailed off, laughing nervously as something in Robb’s face made her pause.  _ Maybe if I shut up this night won’t be so bad. _ She forced a tight lipped smile on her face, making sure it stayed there for the rest of the evening. 

  


However, just when she began to loosen up a bit, talking and laughing with Marge,  _ he  _ showed up again. Dany watched as Jon went to Robb, the two brothers talking a few feet away from the two women. He was dressed in an all black suit, as opposed to his auburn haired brother who wore a white shirt on the inside of his black suit. His hair was well kept, not messy and wild as it usually was. She noticed he didn’t wear his glasses tonight, and it led to her thinking whether he looked better with or without them on. He hadn’t noticed her yet, still in deep conversation with Robb. She couldn’t help but admit to herself that he looked quite dapper and charming in his suit tonight. 

  


“Dany?” Marge’s voice filtered back into her head, along with the other noise of the other people talking in the room. “Are you feeling okay?”    


  
Dany nodded, grimacing slightly. She’d done a lot of that lately, zoning out. She hated it, feeling incredibly bad for not paying attention to her friends. There was just way too much going on in her head. 

  


“I’m so sorry. Uh, what were you saying?”   
  
“Don’t worry, it was nothing important really. Are you sure you’re alright?” Marge asked, her voice laced with concern. 

  


“I’m fine. I promise.” She even added a smile to make it look believable, but judging by the look Marge gave her, it was anything  _ but _ that. All of a sudden, she heard someone call both her and Margaery’s names. It was Robb, who was walking with Jon towards them. Dany’s heart began thumping, increasing in speed as he came closer. He was now aware of her presence here, making her even more nervous than before. The look in his eyes seemed to darken upon setting his sights on her, and it was then she knew he most likely hated her. He went from smiling and talking to Robb in good graces to staring at her, his grey eyes almost black. 

  


_ Do pupils expand in anger too? _

  


Dany swallowed heavily, her mouth running dry as they finally came to them. Robb stopped just short of Marge, the couple facing each other. This left Jon right in front of her, and she sincerely hoped he couldn’t tell she was beginning to sweat. 

  


“Dany, we just wanted to thank you again for making the merging process go so smoothly. We sincerely would not be here without you.” Robb said to her earnestly. 

  


Dany shook her head, the blush returning back to her face. “Please, Robb, there’s no need to thank me.” She gave a nervous laugh, taking great effort to keep her eyes on Robb and certainly not his brother right next to him and in front of her. “It was great working with you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.” 

  


“If there’s anything we could do, please let us know. We’d love to repay you for your work.” Marge said, smiling warmly as she stood next to her husband. 

  


Dany was about to shake her head in response, ready to say that they didn’t need to do her any favor. Then a thought popped up, and she decided she might as well ask now. 

  


“Well, I guess there is actually something.”   
  


“We’ll be glad to do it. What is it?” Robb interjected and she suppressed a smile at how eager he’d been without even hearing the request. 

  


She swallowed, taking a deep breath in and out before saying. “It would mean a lot to me if you all,” she briefly shot a glance at Jon, “were able to come to my wedding, this Saturday.” 

  


Margaery smiled, nodding eagerly. “Of course! We’d love to!” 

  


Dany gave a small, half smile at her eagerness. Then she looked to Robb, who’s face looked to be in a mix of confusion and…  _ was that disappointment? _ He snapped himself out of it, but Dany could see as he forced a smile on his face. He shot a short glance at Jon before facing her. 

  


“Of course. Just text us where and what time.” He sounded less enthusiastic than his wife, for reasons Dany did not know. Last, she looked towards Jon, and his face seemed to have fallen even more than when he looked at her the first time this evening. Where Margaery had been enthusiastic and happy, Jon frowned, his eyes showing all sorts of emotions that Dany could not understand clear enough. She looked at him silently, and was about to take the request back from. If he hated her, why had she thought it a good idea to invite him to her wedding? What kind of person invited their ex boyfriend to their wedding anyways?

  


_ Dammit Dany! _

  


She bit her lip, anxiously waiting for an answer. Finally, he looked up, barely looking her in the eyes. “I’ll think about it.” It was all he said before smiling to the three of them and leaving, disappearing into the crowd of people. His rough accent and the noise in the room made it hard for her to hear what he’d said at first, but once her brain had managed to comprehend what he said, she was left shocked, a million thoughts flying in her mind at once. 

  


_ Was that a no? That was definitely a no. Why did I invite him? How fucked up am I? Oh my gods, he already hates you Daenerys, why would you make it worse? _

  


Robb looked back in the general direction to where Jon had gone and frowned. He looked at Dany apologetically as she bit her lip, almost hard enough that she thought she could taste a bit of blood. She looked down, her hands fidgeting with each other in front of her. 

  


“Dany, I’m so sorry about that. That was a bit rude of him-”    


  
“No, no it wasn’t. There’s no need to apologize for him, Robb.”    
  


He frowned again. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”    


  
Before she could protest, he left, leaving his wife and Dany to talk to each other. Dany sighed dramatically, her eyes forced to look at the ground as she regretted her decision to ask him.  _ Stupid, stupid, stupid! _ Gods, she just wanted to sit down and cover her face with her hands and pretend that there was nothing wrong in the world. That she wasn’t about to get married in five days. That she wasn’t feeling whatever feeling she had for her ex. That there was nothing wrong with her and her life. That she didn’t still harbor any negative feelings towards Daario for selfishly planning  _ their  _ wedding. 

  


She knew she needed to apologize to Jon. She felt as if she’d been so self centered lately and she hated it. He didn’t deserve this, whatever bullshit she kept throwing at him. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right. But she’d need to talk to him somewhere he can’t run away.  _ His condo, _ she decides. She’ll have to time it just right that he’ll be home. She’ll tell him she’s sorry, that he doesn’t need to go to her wedding, and they’ll part ways. Perhaps that way would make her feelings go away, and things would finally become easier. 

  


_ Soon, _ Dany thinks. She’ll talk to him soon and it will all be over. 

  
  


* * *

  


Jon found his legs had taken him to a corner in the huge room of the party. He needed some space to himself, and this corner seemed to inhabit the least amount of people. His need to be alone had stemmed from Dany’s request to him, Robb and Margaery. 

  


_ Saturday. She’s getting married in five days. _

  


She might as well have kicked him right in the abdomen, for it would have ended in the same results. The air seemed to have left his lungs as soon as her lips had closed over the last letter. He wondered incredulously when this had happened. Wasn’t it not that long ago she and Daren- _ or whatever his name was- _ were having problems in regards to the wedding planning? Now they were finally tying the knot in  _ five days?!  _ Jon felt the overwhelming need to punch something, preferably the wall. But there were too many people in the room to witness his anger, including the one who caused it in the first place. 

  


_ Is that what I am now? Angry? At  _ her?

  


He didn’t know what to think. He thought himself so incredibly stupid to believe that the night he’d taken her home to his place and taken care of her would change something for the better between them. Perhaps what she said would cause her to change her mind about some things.  _ But she couldn’t even fucking remember that night. _

  


It left a bitter taste in his mouth, and his feelings and emotions were unravelled. They hadn’t talked in over a week,  _ or was it more than that? _ However long it was, it felt too long. He felt horrible. Not horrible in the way that  _ he  _ did something wrong. But horrible because… of everything. It felt like there a fucking tornado of emotions whirling around inside his body and he was caught up in it. He wanted to be mad at her for inviting him to her wedding, for using him, for being back in his life again, for hurting him, for not talking to him since she left that morning. But then he realized he’d be a downright asshole to blame her for that, and he’d been one plenty of times already. It wasn’t her fault he was feeling this way. It just hurt him deeply to see her again like this. He couldn’t hold her the way he so desperately wanted to, he couldn’t talk to her the way they used to, he couldn’t even look at her the way he wanted to. 

  


Their time apart not talking to the other had at least given him some time and space to think about his feelings. And the conclusion? It was a terrifying one. He couldn’t shake himself of the emotions running through him whenever he saw her. It was only cemented even further into his heart when he layed eyes on her for the first time this evening. She was so absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous he nearly tripped over himself looking at her. And then she dropped the bomb on them.  _ Five days. _ The two words echoed in his mind, and Jon had to fight the urge to bend over and yell as loudly as he could. 

  


“Jon?” A hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked back, surprised to see Robb. “You okay?”   


  
“I’m fine,” he spat the words out, which only proved to Robb that he was  _ not  _ fine.

  


“What’s wrong?” Robb stepped next to him, and they faced the same direction, looking at all the people in the room.  _ She’s in there somewhere _ . 

  


“Nothing. I told you I’m okay.”    


  
“You’re obviously not. Are you mad at Dany or something? Why’d you just walk away like that?”    


  
“Because I wanted to be  _ alone _ ,” he emphasized the last word, hoping his brother would catch on. Robb only glared at him. 

  


“I know something’s up with you. We lived with each other over 18 years, I’m not stupid.”

  


“I told you I’m–” He paused, not bothering to finish his sentence. 

  


From the corner of his eyes, Jon could see Robb almost scrutinizing him. “Did something happen between you and Dany?” 

  


Jon frowned and looked at him, shaking his head. “No. Of course not. What makes you say that?” He mumbled out his last question. 

  


“Because it seems like there is. C’mon Jon, what’s up? I’m your brother, you know you can tell me anything.”    


  
Jon arched an eyebrow at him, earning him a teasing sneer back. He doesn’t bother answering Robb’s question. 

  


“Are you going to the wedding?” His question comes out softly, Jon barely hears it. But he does. And he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know if he’s willing to put himself through the pain of watching her promise herself to another man for the rest of her life. When he still doesn’t answer, Robb looks at him with wide eyes and asks in disbelief.

  


“You’re… you’re still in love with her, aren’t you?” 

  


Robb’s question is confirmed when Jon sets his eyes on Dany once again, spotting her in the crowd of people talking to Margaery. He doesn’t know what Robb is thinking right now, and quite frankly, he doesn’t really want to find out.

  


_ Love. That’s what this all was. He was in love with her again. Or was it ‘still?’ Had he ever stopped?  _

  


_ No. _

  


“Does she know?” He can hear the apprehensiveness in his brother’s voice. 

  


“Of course not.” 

  


“Are you going to tell her?”    


  
“When she’s getting married in five days? Yeah, Robb,  _ of course  _ I’m gonna tell her! How ‘bout I tell her right now?” He snapped at his brother. He winced, turning away from him. “I’m sorry.” He wanted this night to end, so he could go home, cuddle Ghost and go to sleep. Except even in his sleep he couldn’t escape her. It was always her. Her and her violet eyes and bright silver hair and her kind, warm smile and-

  


“It’s alright. I get it.”    


  
_ Do you? _

  


Jon loved her. 

  


He loved her, and now he’s lost her.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was kinda hard to write, ngl. I definitely think it's more of a filler chapter, or a 'calm before the storm' type of thing. I dont know why I gave myself such a tight deadline posting this, but here it is. I wanted this chapter to be a bit more Jon focused, so I didn't have much for Dany as I wrote it. I didn't have much for this chapter in plan, just wanted to get the merge stuff out of the way and add some more details and stuff. next one will definitely be much more though. I haven't started writing that yet, but I wanna say it might be posted around next Thursday ish.
> 
> next chapter: Jon and Dany finally talk about some important things ;)


	31. Would you please have mercy on my heart?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Dany finally talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise early chapter because I love y'all and I am too impatient to wait until Thursday when this chapter is already finished.
> 
> sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes! I hope you enjoy :))

It was a Thursday morning in Winterfell, and it found Dany currently standing in front of the door that led to her ex’s condo. In her hand, she carried a take out bag from Hot Pie’s that contained a dessert that she really hoped he would like. She doesn’t know how long she’s stood out here for. Five minutes? Or maybe twenty? Whatever it was, she knew she had to knock at some point. 

_ Just knock. He should be home. Just knock, that’s all you have to do Daenerys.  _

_ What if he’s not home? What if he doesn’t want to see me? Oh my gods, what if his dog hates me now too and decides to eat me when I step inside?  _

Dany did her best to shake away all her doubtful and weird thoughts. She straightened up, squaring her shoulders. With one last final deep breath in she stepped forward, rapping her knuckles against his door three times. She stepped back, straining her ear to see if she could hear any sort of movement from the inside.  _ None. _

_ Maybe he isn’t home.  _

Dany suppressed a sigh of disappointment as she turned to leave, when she heard the locks of the door unlocking. Then, the door opened, showing her a tired looking Jon still in his pajamas. She frowned as she tried to remember what time she came here.  _ Eight o’clock isn’t too early, right?  _

It made no matter, because he was awake now, and she was standing at the door. She felt a bit stupid standing outside with a a takeout bag in her hand as Jon stared at her weirdly. 

She cleared her throat, before giving a nervous laugh. “Hi-uh, good morning! I brought you a chocolate pie from Hot Pie’s. I-I thought you’d like it.” She did her best to sound cheerful, but it was hard to considering his face stayed neutral the whole time.  _ This is bad, this is bad, this is really really bad. _

“Uh- sorry, I could just come back later if this is a bad time.” She grimaced as he frowned. 

“No, it’s alright.” He shook his head, then stepped back, leaving space for her to walk inside. Tentatively she took the offer, walking inside. She held the takeout bad tightly in her hand, squeezing the little handles of it so hard her knuckles turned white and she feared it would rip in her hands. She stood in the center of the room as he locked the door then turned around slowly and looked at her, both avoiding eye contact with each other.  _ When had it led to this? _

She decided to start first. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For-”  _ For what exactly? Oh right, for screwing everything up.  _ “A lot of things.” She holds back a grimace. Hopefully he understands what she means by that, despite how lame that was. “I, uh, brought you some dessert, a chocolate pie. I thought you’d like it.” She held out the bag a little for him. 

There was a small pause before he said, “Can’t really have pie for breakfast, can I?”    


  
The lightness in his voice as he jested lifted Dany’s spirits slightly, especially seeing him give a little smirk. He didn’t sound like he wanted her out and gone, so she took that as a positive. 

“No, but maybe for later.” 

He gave her a small but genuine smile this time, and took the takeout bag from her, placing it on the kitchen counter. “Thank you.” She nodded in response. 

“That all you came here for?”    


  
Her smile dropped. Was this a way of saying he wanted her to leave? Maybe she should leave. It would certainly avoid the possibility of her spilling out all her secrets. However, he seemed to sense her doubt when he cringed and shook his head.

“That-that came out wrong, I’m sorry. I just meant, if there was anything else you needed.” 

“Oh,” she nodded. “No. Just came to apologize and give you that.” She gestured her head to the pie. 

“There’s nothin’ to apologize for,” he frowned.  _ Oh there’s so many things to apologize for Jon. _

They stood in silence once again, and Dany felt something nudge at her hand. Looking down, she smiled as she saw Ghost looking up at her with big eyes and a cocked head. She sat on the couch to pet him, and hoped Jon would take the hint to sit down as well so that they could converse. He didn’t. He only looked at her pet his dog with scrunched eyebrows. She withdrew her hand, and without any sort of thought process, her mouth opened and she had no control of the words that came out. 

“I remember what I said to you that night. Everything I said and what I did. I remember.” 

Jon’s face dropped as he looked at her with wide eyes. Her expression was a similar one as well, her entire body filled with fear. Her heart thudded, beating hard like a dream as he looked at her. She could only tell how much her honesty had unravelled them both. 

* * *

_ She remembers.  _

_ But how? _

Is that why she came here? To remind him of that night? 

He swallowed heavily, unable to look at her. He was afraid that if he looked into her eyes, he’d be spelled into admitting everything he feels, and he just couldn’t afford to do that. Not with her. Perhaps she came here to tell him they couldn’t be friends anymore, that staying friends with an ex isn’t a good idea. He’d agree with that. Or maybe not. 

“You don’t need to say sorry for any of that. You were drunk. You didn’t know what you were saying. It’s okay.” He did his best to brush the topic off, not wanting to wander into that territory.

She stays silent and he could see her throat bob as she swallowed. _ Is she nervous? But why? _

Dany shakes her head, keeping her eyes trained on Ghost. Her face had a pained expression on it, and it caused his heart to ache slightly for it. What was she thinking inside that head of hers?   
  


The air hung thick and heavy between them, and he knew that if she didn’t leave, he would have no control over what comes out of his mouth. But strangely, he wanted her to stay. He didn’t want her to leave, because for some reason, he felt that if she left, he’d have no other chance to truly talk to her anymore. 

He opened his mouth, ready to say something, but closed it again. Shaking his head, he started. “I guess there’s some things we need to talk about.” She looked up at him, blinking several times. He knew she knew what he was talking about. She was a smart woman after all. 

“Yes. There is,” her voice was so quiet and soft, he barely heard her at first.  _ This is so much harder than I thought. _

“What you said that night, I don’t blame you for it. I’m not angry at you, if you were ever wondering that.” He sincerely hoped she knew he wasn’t upset with her. That would only cause more problems they didn’t already need, 

He could see the look on her face, and recognized it easily enough. It was one she had on whenever she was about to contest something. “But Jon-”    
  
“It doesn’t matter.” He said the words through clenched teeth, a bit more forceful than he would’ve liked. _ Don’t fuck this up even more than you already have, Snow. _ “You didn’t mean it, I know you didn’t. It wasn’t your fault.” He didn’t know whether he was saying more for her or himself. She didn’t respond, and it wasn’t until he heard her sniffle quietly that he looked up. 

_ Is she crying? No no no no no please don’t cry Dany. I’m sorry.  _

Out of concern, he took a few steps and walked closer to her, causing her to look up at him, straight into his eyes. From this angle he could see the tears making her beautiful eyes look glassy and so sad. He hated seeing her like this and it only made him feel even worse knowing he was most likely the cause of her tears. Carefully, he kneeled down in front of her, Ghost getting up and walking away as he took the hint. She glanced up at him, biting her lip. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-... Dany, it’s okay, really, it is.” He wanted to comfort her, but he could only do so through words and it just didn’t feel good enough. 

He heard her say something, but it was so much more quieter than the first time around he couldn’t quite catch what she said. 

“What was that?” He asked her softly. But instead of answering him, she reached a hand out, and took his own hand into hers, holding it like it was a lifeline. He frowned, shaking his head slowly and swallowed. 

“You didn’t mean it…” he whispered, but this time, he knew it was for himself. She looked up once more, and connected their eyes to one another. And as he looked into those violet orbs he fell in love with, he saw the answer. 

  
  


_ She did. _

  
  


Jon’s eyes widen, and he retracts his hand from her quickly, as if he had just gotten burned. He stood up, rubbing his beard and facing away from her.  _ If she meant them, did that mean…?  _

_ She felt the same back.  _

He didn’t know what to do with this revelation. On one hand, he felt joyous, happy that she returned his feelings and he wasn’t going crazy, that they might still have a chance. But on the other hand, the more logical side of him said that this couldn’t happen. He couldn’t let this happen. She already had someone else, she shouldn’t be having feelings for him too.  _ How? Why?  _

He turned back to look at her, and saw as her bottom lip quivered and she squeezed her eyes shut. Everything felt almost hazy to him, as if he was in a dream that he couldn’t wake himself from.  _ Some cruel dream this was. _

He feels out of breath from the way his heart is pounding hard beneath his chest. Shaking his head, he says to her. 

“Y-you’re engaged, Dany.” It comes out sounding like he’s being strangled from the way his throat constricted. He can’t believe it. None of this is true. Did she think it was funny to play games like this with him?

“You think I don’t know that?!” She snaps, causing him to wince a tiny bit. However, she continues on. “You think I voluntarily want to feel this way when I know I’m supposed to be getting married in two fucking days?!”    


  
He can sense the anger in her voice, the frustration that was similar to the one building up inside of him. She backs down, retracting herself back. 

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way,” she gives a watery, nervous laugh. “Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy. I just want it to stop.” 

Jon can’t keep looking at her crying for fear he’ll start doing the same. His efforts are futile though, and he can feel his own eyes beginning to water.  _ Admit it. Just admit it. _ The voice inside him tells him. What else did he have to lose, admitting the truth about his feelings. He tells himself that maybe if he admits it out loud, it’ll be easier to get rid of them.

“I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.” 

The admission is quiet, but the weight he feels leave his shoulders at finally saying it out loud to her is incredibly immense. He hears her gasp softly, but he doesn’t look at her, not yet. He takes a minute to himself to think about everything. What did this mean for them? They both didn’t expect the other to reciprocate their feelings, and yet they did. This was far from what Jon had expected. He was expecting anything  _ but _ this. He expected her to walk in and say they could no longer associate with each other anymore, or that he wasn’t worth befriending again. Anything  _ but _ the truth of her own feelings for him as well. 

“So what do we do now?” She interrupts his thought process, and he’s instantly brought back to their time in high school when she was shy, all because her voice sounded so meek and quiet in the moment. 

He looks back at her, an incredulous expression surely showing up on his face. “What do you mean ‘what do we do?’ We aren’t doing anythin’. You’re getting married Dany.” The last sentence comes out much softer than the others. A cruel reminder to both of them.

“I don’t know if I want to marry him anymore.”    


  
The statement comes out like a blow to his chest, just as her admission did. He couldn’t believe this. This couldn’t– _ shouldn’t _ be happening. And he hates how a small part of him grows excited, because he shouldn’t be. Now he knew that  _ this _ –none of this was okay. None of it was fair. Before, his feelings had been kept to himself and he’d tried his best to get rid of them. Now, she was here admitting she felt the same and unsure if she even wanted to get married, just when he thought they could finally put the past behind them. 

“You can’t say that. You’re–you’re confused, that’s all.” 

“You can’t tell me what I’m feeling, Jon,” she says accusatory, standing up from the couch. He had a bad feeling he knew where this was going to lead to, and as much as he wanted to put a stop to it before they could argue even further, he couldn’t help himself. 

“I know how I feel.” She insisted, her eyebrows scrunching together as she looked at him.

He shakes his head. “You’ll be happier with him.” 

“That’s not true!” She yells, stepping closer to him, her steps faltering when he takes a step back from her. If she dared step any closer to him, he couldn’t be held responsible for what happens next. 

“You should be over me already.” His voice is close to a whisper. 

“I know,” she sniffles. “I know that. But I couldn’t stop myself. Now I don’t know what to do.” 

_ Be with me.  _ The ugly voice in Jon’s head whispers and he shakes himself of it. “You shouldn’t be having any feelings. It isn’t right.”    


  
“I can’t stop it.  _ Gods, _ none of this is right or fair.” She shakes her head, a set of new, fresh tears beginning to water her eyes once more as she looks up at the ceiling. 

Her words don’t sit well with him, and he snaps. “You think this isn’t fair? Do you have  _ any  _ sort of idea what this has been for me? How do you think I feel? I have to see the woman that I used to love– that I  _ still  _ love– engaged to marry someone else! I was doing  _ just fine _ before you showed up again, Daenerys. Not to mention how you invite me to your fucking wedding! If you really had your feelings, why would you do that? Do you honestly expect me to come to  _ your  _ wedding just to watch you marry a man that  _ isn’t me?  _ I’ve been doing my best to keep a distance from you and this is what you do?”

“That’s not what I meant for,” she says quietly. He can see the tears beginning to make their trail down her cheeks and he suddenly wants to punch himself in the face as hard as possible. He shouldn’t have said any of that, he shouldn't have yelled, and now he’s hurt her. He couldn’t even comfort her the way he wanted to in that moment. 

“I’m sorry.” He tries his absolute hardest to hold in his tears and prevent his voice from cracking. “I don’t want to upset you, Dany. But you shouldn’t be feeling this way. You’ll be happier with him, you’ll see.” 

“And how do you know that?” Her voice in disbelief. 

“Because I refuse to hurt you anymore than I already have.” A thought comes to his mind. “I hurt you before. Why me? After everything I’ve done. Why me?” She should hate him with everything she has, and yet she doesn’t. 

“I told you, I don’t know. Some part of me wants to keep hating you, but I can’t. I forgave you–” 

He cuts her off with a mocking laugh, making her stop mid sentence. Now, he’s full of bitterness. “We all know you haven’t. And I sure as hell know for a fact that neither of us have gotten over what happened eight years ago.” 

“What else is there to do about it?” He can hear the frustration in her voice.  _ Good, let her get mad. _ But he knows now that he just opened up a dangerous conversation. 

His emotions are running all over the place, and he raises his voice a bit louder. “You could’ve let me explain things, for one! I didn’t even get a chance to talk to you before you just fucking left!”    


  
The tears in her eyes are replaced with fire as she stares at him in shock. “No,” she shakes her head slowly. “Don’t. Don’t you  _ fucking dare  _ try to pin the blame on me! Had you not lied in the first place, none of this would be happening, Jon Snow! It was all  _ your  _ fault _!  _ I  _ loved _ you and I  _ trusted _ you, and yet you still lied! So don’t you  _ dare,” _ she walks close enough to him to push at his chest, “try to put the blame on anyone else but yourself!” 

His nose flared in anger as he looked at her. “I was scared, alright?! I thought it was too late to say anything the further we got!”    


  
“You could’ve put a stop to it before we even did anything! I let you take my gods damned virginity for R’hllor’s sake! We did all these things together, and yet you  _ still _ kept lying!” She paused, and he can almost visibly see the moment when she lets all her walls down, and she chokes out a sob, one that hits him hard right at his heart. “Did you even love me?” 

The quiet question hits him like a truck, and all the anger washes away from his mind and body as he looks at her, astounded. He realizes then that all this time they’ve been apart, she believed he never loved her, and it’s that fact that brings the tears to his eyes, one escaping down his face. 

“Of course I did. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to lose you  _ because _ I loved you.” 

“Then  _ why?”  _ Her last word cracks and ends in a whisper. In that moment, Jon so desperately wanted to sink to the floor on his knees to cry and beg for her forgiveness. 

“I told you. I was so scared.” He was a coward. At the time, everyone believed him to be so cool and confident, when in reality, he was scared shitless of losing her. 

“So what’s your excuse now?” He flinches at the way she uses the word ‘excuse’, almost as if she didn’t believe him.  _ She probably doesn’t.  _ “You keep saying you still love me, but you’re doing this.”    


  
“I love you enough to let you go. I don’t want to fuck up and hurt you again. I  _ can’t. _ ” His own voice breaks as well. He hopes she understands how much pain he’s putting himself through just to make sure she’ll be happy. That was all he wanted. He just wanted her to be happy, and if it was with someone else, then so be it. 

The silence between them is thick and heavy once again. Not a single sound could be heard, but the light panting of Ghost. Jon swears he could almost hear him whimper, and he feels terrible for having his dog witness what was going on right now. 

“So that’s it? You’re just going to let me go?” She throws out her arms against her side. 

Jon nods, unable to look her in the eyes once more. “It’s better this way. You’ll be happier, I know you will. He’ll give you the life that you deserve.” 

Dany looks at him once more, and stares into his eyes, searching and scanning for something. She scoffs then, turning away from him. 

He very nearly recoils at the amount of bitterness and hurt he can hear in her voice. “You haven’t really changed, have you?”

And with that, she leaves, and the sound of the door slamming shut behind her echoes in his head. It felt symbolic in a way. The door representing that they had probably just closed away all remnants of the past, and walked away from it. Except it’s such an ugly symbolism to him. As he sinks down to the floor of his kitchen, leaning against the bottom cabinets, he finally lets the tears out. He runs a hand through his hair, and suppresses the urge to cry even harder when Ghost comes and lays next to him, resting his head on Jon’s lap. In his mind, he knows it was the right thing to do. But his heart is screaming at him for letting the only woman he’d ever truly loved walk away from him once more. 

* * *

Later that night found Dany sleeping, tired from the day’s events. Her mind had been racing from her conversation with Jon that morning. She could barely focus at work today, so much so that Doreah insisted she go home and rest, but she didn’t. 

_ In her dreams, she found herself in an extremely familiar place. The apartment she lived in with her Uncle. It felt so real, so vivid. Every single thing was as she remembered it. The couches, the picture frames, everything. It brought back all sorts of memories and the nostalgia she felt was immense. She misses the little apartment she grew up in, when it was just her and her Uncle. Dany knew this was all a dream, but she made a mental reminder to herself to see if the apartment was still there and who inhabited it now. _

_ As if to confirm that this was all a dream, she heard someone call her name. Turning around, Dany nearly burst into instant tears as she watches her Uncle Aemon walk out slowly from the kitchen.  _

_ “Uncle?” She asks in disbelief. She barely recognizes him, seeing as he was walking as opposed to sitting in his wheelchair like he used to and– he wasn’t blind. Dany smiled wide as she looked her Uncle in the eyes, and he smiled back. She feels it more than she knows that this is her Uncle before his health started getting to him, and the happy tears in her eyes almost spill out as she walks to him.  _

_ “Daenerys.” He holds out his arms, and Dany doesn’t care that this is all a dream. She knows it. And yet she doesn’t care because she gets to be with a part of her family. She throws herself into his arms, hugging him tight as some tears finally escape her eyes.  _

_ “Oh, goodness you’ve grown so much. I haven’t visited you in a while, haven’t ?” Dany nods tearfully, but it doesn’t matter to her. She’s just glad he did visit her. She didn’t know whether it was real at first, or whether her mind had just been conjuring stuff of her family.  _

_ “Last time I saw you, you were crying over college finals. Oh, I’m so proud of you my dear niece. Now you’re getting married.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Dany smiled again, remembering how she was on the verge of a mental breakdown studying for finals. But her smile faltered as he mentioned her big upcoming day.  _

_ “You’re uncertain,” her Uncle states, frowning slightly. Dany nods, looking down to the ground.  _

_ “I don’t know what to do. I feel so lost.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “Why don’t you tell me what’s troubling you,” he suggests, leading her to take a seat on the couch. Once they’re seated, Dany tells him.  _

_ “I’m getting married to my  _ _ fiancé soon, but I’m having feelings for someone else. It sounds bad, I know it does, I just don’t know what to do.” There was no longer a chance for her and Jon, as if today’s events had not already confirmed it. Yet that didn’t stop her feelings for him. It was what confused her, whether she should force herself to move on, or to stay.  _

_ Aemon nodded, thinking about what she said thoughtfully. “Tell me, why are you marrying this person if you’re in love with another?”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Why was she marrying Daario? _

_ It was that thought exactly that had conflicted her. She loved him, or at least she thought she did. She thought she finally found someone who loved her for her. Someone who wanted to be with her because they loved her, not because they were looking to gain something from her. But lately, things have just been off with their relationship. But he still loved her, didn’t he? Did she love him?  _

_ Dany cursed herself for being so weak, so lost. But lately, that’s all she’s been feeling. Like she was back in high school too scared to speak for herself.  _

_ “You’re afraid,” he states more than he does ask when she can’t find a proper response. She nods, because that’s what she is. Afraid. Her Uncle takes both of her hands into his own, and though she can feel the wrinkles of his hand, she takes comfort in them.  _

_ “Listen to me, my sweet niece. You have so much of your life to look forward to. Don’t waste it by being afraid or you’ll miss out on some of life’s biggest moments and miss the greatest opportunities. Listening to your head is important, but so is your heart. Tune out your head sometimes, as your heart is where your true desires lie.” He sighs. “I will admit it, I was very disappointed in Jon at first. But he’s changed now, and so have you. If you ever want to be truly happy, you must not let fear and doubt get in your way.”  _ _  
  
_

_ He caressed her cheek with a feather light touch and Dany fluttered her eyes closed, letting herself relax as she tried to process what his advice to her was. _

_ “So, you’re saying…” she trails off wondering if he was really telling her what she thinks. _

_ “You need to let him go.”  _

_ They share eye contact, and Dany finally realizes the answer. She gives a smile at this, feeling a weight finally lifted off her shoulders as the answer is made clear to her. Then she frowns again, a sudden worry nagging at her. “Will I remember this when I wake up?” What if she couldn’t, and made the wrong decision?  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ “That is up to you. I only know for certain that your heart will retain this. It’s up to you to decide if your head does as well.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Dany smiled wide once more, her face only falling when he pulled away. She knew he had to leave soon.  _

_ “Wait.”  _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Uncle Aemon stops, looking at her with kind eyes. She needs to ask him this one last question.  _

_ “My family–how are they?” _ _  
_

_  
_ _ Her Uncle smiles at her, tilting his head to the side. “They’re counting on you to make the right decision. But they are very proud of you Daenerys. Your brothers are certainly… a bit protective, but they are so proud to see their little sister as such a grown woman. Your parents are as well. We are all so happy to see how far you’ve come along. We may not be there for you in the flesh, but we’re always in your heart. Never forget that.”  _

_ Dany nods, tears beginning to well in her eyes once more at hearing of her family. They all were looking upon her and it gave her comfort to know they were there, even if she couldn’t see them. “When will I see you again?”  _

_ “Not quite sure yet. Perhaps we’ll all pay you a visit once you’re about to have your first child.”  _

_ A smile broke onto Dany’s face as he said so, beaming at him. I’m going to be a mother someday, she thinks. She wanted to ask him when and how many she would have, but that was a conversation for another time. A child of my own.. with him _ …  __

_ “Tell them I’m sorry I haven’t visited them in a while, and you. I’ll drive out as soon as I can, I promise.” She tells her Uncle, referring to where they were all laid to rest years ago. Dany felt terrible at not paying them a visit in the recent years. She should have been doing so more often.  _

_ “I’ll tell them,” he nodded, then gave her an apologetic smile. “I must go now.”  _

_ Dany’s face fell and her heart ached at having to see him go. She didn’t want him to leave just yet. She wanted to stay here, with her Uncle and listen to all the stories he had to tell her. She just wanted to feel like a young girl again, with no worries in her little world. But she knew that wasn’t how it worked. Nevertheless, she grew sad at having to let him go again.  _

_ “Don’t cry, dear. You’ll find yourself very happy very soon. I promise you.”  _ _  
_

  
_ She nodded, but she couldn’t stop the tears that soon began to steadily flow from her eyes as she hugged her Uncle tightly one last time. She hoped with all her heart that when she wakes up, she’ll remember this dream and that she’ll make the right decision.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which one is the “him” that Dany must let go of? Tune in next time to find out ;) (but seriously i think ((i hope)) we all know who it is; if you really don’t know, then–uh– i can’t help you). Both of our beans' emotions are on high speed right now, but they'll figure it out.
> 
> We're almost there you guys!! One more chapter down to go and this fic is finished. The story does not end here, there will be a sequel fic to this, so don't worry! Try to hang on and stick with me here, Jon and Dany will finally be back together soon, I promise and there'll be no more (Daario and wedding) problems between them other than just figuring out their lives together. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter, it wasn't quite as long as I thought it to be originally, but it had all the key things in there. I literally scoped the YouTube to find songs to get me in the feels and mood to write this chapter lmao. Hopefully you might be able to spot some references/parallels from this chapter from previous, earlier chapters (head and heart anyone....?)
> 
> I am currently about a third of the way finished with the last chapter, so it will probably be out sometime before Friday, so look out for that!!
> 
> All of your kind comments really keep me going and I look forward to reading each and every one of them, so much so that every time I'm on my phone, I check my emails constantly to see if there's been any new notifications from ao3. I'm glad I could make so many of yours guys' quarantine just a little bit better. Your responses always brighten up mine :)) keep them up, all comments (and kudos!) are welcome (but no complaints please). Remember that in the end, this is all just for fun. see you on the next one!
> 
> Next Chapter: The End :(


	32. My love, this is just the beginning of our story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I really wish I didn't have to start this on a bitter note but oh well. If you don’t like how this story ended or the direction I decided to take it in, you can go write your own fic. I’ve noticed a thing where almost all hate commenters on fics (not just mine) are the ones who’ve never written a multi-chaptered story themselves. This is how I planned to end it since the beginning. I’m not here to write something that each and every single person will agree with. Sorry to the people that thought I was writing this fic specifically for them. Love is a messy thing, it’s far from what it is depicted to be. It’s not perfect, and neither are the two people involved. I guess some of you decided to skip over my note when I specifically stated I will be writing this story for me and the way I envisioned it. 
> 
> Anyways, this is the last one, so I’m going to try not to end it on a terribly bad note. I somehow managed to finish this chapter (and this fic) just as I finished all my assignments for this school year, so i guess i kinda scored. 
> 
> Hope you like it and sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes in advanced.

_ Today is the day. _

_ Today _ meaning it was now Saturday, which meant that her wedding was  _ today. _

Dany was currently a mix of emotions, as if every single thing she was capable of feeling had gone on a huge rollercoaster and came off feeling sick. As she came to think about it, she also felt kind of sick as well. 

Yesterday morning, when she had woken up, she felt both refreshed and still tired. And most importantly, she went throughout the day feeling as if something was missing, like there was something she was forgetting that she just couldn’t remember. It had bothered her entirely. When she woke up again that morning, Daario was already gone, off to prepare himself for their wedding. She still couldn’t shake away the nagging feeling inside of her that there was  _ something  _ wrong. 

Dany was currently in her bedroom at the apartment with Missy helping her get ready for the ceremony. The dress that Daario had chosen for her was a white, strapless dress with a long train of ruffles. The bodice was covered in small, little designs and patterns and jewels. She thought it was all pretty, except for the fact that it was extremely itchy and uncomfortable, not to mention that it just didn’t feel right on her, most likely due to the fact that this was far from her style. She sat in front of the mirror, doing her best to sit still as Missandei did her hair. It was braided and currently being put into a low bun.

“Are you okay?” Missy asks her, tucking in the last pin into her hair before pulling away, stepping back to look at her creation. Then she looked at Dany through the mirror. “You’ve been really quiet.” 

Dany nodded numbly, choosing not to open her mouth. Missy frowned at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Dany looked into the mirror again. Her face looked far from happy, almost devastated like. As if she was dying on the inside. 

Missy looks at her, eyes full of concern. “Tell me what’s wrong. Are you getting cold feet?” 

Dany shook her head. No, none of this was because she was nervous. She debates on whether or not she should tell her best friend the truth about everything. It was something that felt far too personal to say out loud to anyone, something that only she herself can deal with and fix. This wasn’t a problem that Missy should have to worry about. 

Instead of telling her what had happened between her and Jon, she spoke of her doubts instead. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing, marrying Daario?” She hated how timid she sounded, but it wasn’t like it mattered. Not at the moment anyway. Missy looked at her, eyebrows furrowed together as she kneeled in front of Dany’s seat. 

“Where is all this coming from?” Dany didn’t say anything, and looked on as Missy’s face showed her recollection of their conversation a few days ago. “This is because of Jon, isn’t it?” When she doesn’t say anything, her eyes widen. However, just as she opened her mouth to say something, a loud knock sounded at the front door of the apartment, stopping Missy from whatever she was about to say. They both turned to the direction of the door as Missy stood up. 

“I’ll go get it. Just stay right here.” She left the room, closing the bedroom door behind her. 

Once she’s gone, Dany slowly looks up into the mirror once again. Her brain feels exhausted from all the running it's been doing as she searched desperately inside herself to figure out what was missing. She can feel her heart give the all too familiar twinge and it only serves to bother her even more. 

_ Why am I doing this?  _

_ Why am I going through with this?  _

_ Why am I marrying him?  _

Dany tells herself that it is because she couldn’t go back to Jon. There was no longer a chance for them. That door had closed a long time ago. She only wished she hadn’t been so stupid to admit her feelings. She should’ve just apologized for what happened that night and left. But because she had stayed, things only got worse for them. 

It had come off as an extreme surprise to her to hear him tell her the truth, that he never stopped loving her. She had assumed that all this time, he’d finally moved on from her, and she was still stuck on him. It made her feel happy at first, to hear her feelings were returned and she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t move past it. But it only served to complicate things even further. She was angry with him for being such a coward, strong as a word it was. It had angered her greatly to hear him try to put the blame on her. Dany believed she had no fault in their falling out years ago. If he had wanted to talk to her, he should have been the one to find her. At the time, her pride had taken over her, and she wasn’t about to look weak crawling back to him. He never even tried to talk to her again. Maybe she didn’t want him to, but he could’ve  _ tried.  _ And now he was pushing her away because he was scared he’ll hurt her again. He even made the assumption  _ for  _ her that Daario will make her happier. Dany knew in her heart that it wasn’t true. Deep down inside of her, she knew there was only one person who could truly bring such joy from her.  _ And she couldn’t have him. _

These were all such terrible thoughts to have on one’s own wedding day, but she couldn’t help herself even if she tried. It made her feel incredibly guilty though. She was just so conflicted. She couldn’t have the man she held feelings for, but… could she even marry Daario anymore?

When he had proposed to her, she’d been so happy. She finally thought she’d be getting the ‘happily ever after’ ending she’s always wanted. A man who loved her for her and wasn’t expecting to gain anything by being with her. That was who he was, right? That was what she wanted, wasn’t it? Dany didn’t know what she wanted anymore. She thought, perhaps, that the sooner they get married, the more stable and grounded she’ll feel. But as she looks back on their relationship, she’s no longer quite so sure. 

They’d dated for a little less than a year during her time in Meereen, when she’d gotten the job offer in Winterfell. She had been so happy to hear that he was willing to move with her all the way to a different country. Only a couple months after they moved into their apartment, did he propose to her. Dany believed it was a sign that they were meant to be. Looking back at it now, she realized that they had moved too fast, too soon. Their entire relationship had been rushed. As if to further prove that point, they were getting married in only several hours after being together for only a little more than a year, 

She sighed out loud, fidgeting with her hands that were tangled together on her lap. She closed her eyes and tried to envision herself walking down the aisle counting down the seconds before they were to be joined for the rest of their lives. But at the end of the aisle, it wasn’t Daario that was waiting for her. It was  _ Jon. _ It was Jon who waited for her, his messy curls tamed back slightly and a huge, beaming smile on his face. 

And as she thought about what this meant, as well as everything else, she felt as if she was getting closer to the truth. Closer to finding out what she had been missing. 

But before she could try and dig deeper into her mind, she heard Missy call out for her from outside. Someone wanted to see her. 

* * *

Jon had been standing outside what he really hoped was Dany’s apartment door for nearly ten minutes now. He’d managed to get Grey to give him her address. In his hands was a gift. A wedding gift, specifically for the bride only. After two nights and one long day of full, hard thinking, he decided he would go to her wedding, only to see her off one last time. After that, they’ll never have to see each other again. 

He fiddles with the plastic wrapping of the basket that his mother had wrapped, his nerves getting to him.  _ What if she doesn’t want to see me? Maybe it’ll be better if I just left.  _

_ No. _

He had to do this. He just needed to talk to her one last time. After two deep breaths in and out, he raises his fist and knocks on the door. He waits a few seconds, hearing a door inside open and close. When the main door opens, he’s surprised to see Missandei there. She looks surprised to see him as well, but also angry. He sighs to himself as he realizes Dany has probably told her everything. She stands between the space of the door and the frame, crossing her arms and looking at him. 

“What do you want?” 

Jon tries not to wince at the harshness of her voice, and lifts the basket in his hands. “I–I just wanted to give her this. Just a gift.”  _ One last gift. _

  
Missandei eyes it suspiciously, then turns back to him. He sighs, dropping the basket in his hands but not letting it drop down all the way to the floor. “She told you everything, didn’t she?” To him, his question comes out as more of a statement. 

Missandei looks at him, then sighs herself, coming out to stand in front of the door, but not closing it all the way. “I don’t even know if it’s everything.”    


  
He doesn’t entirely understand what she means by that, but he decides to let it go. 

“You know, just when things should be going well for her, you somehow find your back in her life.” 

He wants to laugh out loud at how fitting that sentence applied to him as well. But he feels extremely guilty as well, knowing she was right.  _ If I hadn’t shown up, she wouldn’t be so confused. _

Then she shifts, looking slightly hesitant before she speaks again. “As much as I hate how you seem to mess things up, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as happy with Daario as she is and was with you. And all I want is for her to be happy, after all the shit she’s been through.”

He looks up from the ground to look at her, knowing full well it was surprise that was etched on his face.  _ She didn’t mean that, did she?  _ Jon frowns, as he thinks about it. That couldn’t be true, it couldn’t. It was her fiancé that was supposed to make her happier,  _ not him _ .

She seems to know what he’s thinking, and shakes her head softly. “Don’t get me wrong, I love her, but Dany’s just too stubborn sometimes,” she says with a small smile.

“It’s all my fault,” he admits, hanging his head low with shame. Missandei only looks at him with pity, making him feel worse about himself and his own actions. 

With a heavy swallow, he looks up at her again. “Please, Missandei. Just let me give this to her, and none of you will ever have to see me again, I’ll make sure of it. I-” he pauses, unable to look at her in the eyes. “I just wanna talk to her one last time.” It comes out as quiet as a whisper, but she hears it nonetheless.

Thankfully, she nods, and opens the door behind her to call for Dany. When she emerges from a room, he feels his mouth run dry and all the air leave his body. 

_ She’s absolutely gorgeous. _

Dany looked absolutely  _ stunning _ in her dress. From her hair, to the ruffles of the skirt. He couldn’t help but absolutely hate and envy her fiancé with all he’s got.  _ It’s not for me, _ he thinks sadly. She makes it to the front door, and before either one of the women could see him embarrassingly drool at the sight of her, he puts on a tight smile and he hopes they can’t tell how forced it is. 

He holds out the gift basket and says “I wanted to give this to you personally. Wedding gift for the bride, my uh- mom helped me put it together.” 

She looks surprised to see the gift, and most likely him as well, but she graciously takes the present. There’s a soft smile on her face as she takes it into her hands, something in her eyes sparkling as she looks at it. Then, she looks back up to him, and neither knows what to say next. 

“I’m gonna head back inside, alright?” Missandei says to her, and she nods. Jon watches as her friend leaves, leaving the two of them alone with each other, which he doesn’t think is a necessarily good idea. 

“So you’re going?” Dany starts first. He nods, and so does she. “Thank you for the gift. You didn’t have to, but thank you.” 

“Of course.”

Seeing her now, it only serves as a hurtful reminder to him that this is really it for them. As soon as the ceremony was over, the vows said and done, he’d walk away from her life, hoping it will cause any feelings to disappear, and allow Dany a happy life even if he’d be left to suffer. He wants so badly to take back what he said to her before, but it was already said and done. Perhaps she’s already changed her decision and decided that he was right, that she deserved better than him. 

“You-” he clears his throat. “You look…  _ really _ great.” Jon tells her with full honesty, motioning to her dress. He controls himself from saying too much that’ll make this awkward. 

She looks down, sweeping a hand over the skirt of it. “Oh, uh, thank you. You look really nice yourself.” She nods her head towards his outfit. He’s already dressed in his formal wear, an all black tux for the occasion. Jon thinks he looks like absolute shit compared to her. He allows himself one final sweeping look of her dress. He believes she looks incredibly beautiful, the little gems of the bodice seemed to bring out her eyes even more so than they already were. But he frowns at the way she fidgets with her hands. Yes, the dress is beautiful… and completely  _ not her. _ She looks great in it, but it doesn’t seem like something that Dany herself would have chosen to wear. He can feel a small part of him beginning to boil when he thinks of whether or not it was her fiancé who had chosen that dress. He sees it in the way she stands, her hands splayed over the dress as she feels it over herself. He can see how uncomfortable she looks, the way she frowns as she picks some imaginary lint on it. It only made him frown in response, giving him a sinking feeling. He clears her throat, grabbing her attention. 

“I should- I should go. I’ll see you there.”

She nods, but he notices something in her eyes, the way it seemed to lose its sparkle. He doesn’t know whether it was his imagination playing tricks on him to make him believe that she seemed to be moving closer toward him. He brushes it off as his imagination when he sees she hasn’t moved from her spot at the door. She doesn’t say or do anything. Jon has to control himself from embracing her, and instead, he turns to leave. He tells himself it’s his imagination again when he swears he sees tears forming in her eyes, and he has to fight off his own as he walks down the corridor and farther away from her. It breaks his heart knowing that the next and final time he’ll see her is walking down the aisle for someone else. 

* * *

A couple more hours later, and it’s time for Dany to leave for the ceremony. Except the only problem was that she couldn’t find it in herself to move from her position. She was currently sitting on the edge of her bed, her heart beginning to pound as she thought about everything. Her nerves were getting to her, and her entire body felt extremely cold. At that moment, Missy walked in, phone in hand. 

“Dany, it’s time to go.” Her best friend tells her. Missy is wearing a pretty, royal blue dress to match the color scheme that  _ Daario _ had chosen. And it was then she knew for certain. 

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t marry him. It had dawned on her the moment Jon left.  _ I can’t marry Daario. _

Every time she thought about her future with him, it was never clear. She didn’t fully understand where they stood with each other, and what their plans for the future are. They never talked about it.  _ Did he want kids? Did he even want a family? What kind of life does he want us to have?  _ They never discussed any of it. He’d only proposed to her, and she accepted. They had moved too fast in their relationship for her to completely comprehend what they were about to do. At the time when she had met him in Meereen, she had been alone and didn’t know anybody there, and was fresh from college and completely still unsure of herself. Dany thought what they had was real love, but she knew then, she knew  _ now  _ that it wasn’t. They didn’t have what she thought they did. And now, people were waiting for  _ her  _ to arrive to marry a man she didn’t truly love. And she felt  _ awful  _ about it.

“I can’t,” she said, barely above a whisper. This was such awful timing, for her to finally realize and sort out her feelings right when she was due to leave. But she couldn’t go. 

“What do you mean?” Missy asks her, concern flooding her voice. 

“I can’t marry him. I know now, Missy, I know I can’t marry him.” She hopes her friend will understand. She hopes she’ll remember the conversation they had a few days back. When she hears Missandei gasp softly, Dany knows she remembers. 

“Dany…” she can hear the apprehension in her voice as she starts. “Look at me.” She softly commands her to do so. Dany looks up, albeit slowly. “Do you still love Daario?”   


  
Dany swallows, then slowly shakes her head. Missy nodded, and Dany was, not for the first time, so incredibly grateful for her best friend’s patient nature. 

“Is this because of Jon?”    


  
Dany thought about the question, and what it truly meant. In a way, perhaps it did. But she shook her head. It wasn’t entirely because of Jon, though he did have a role to play. “No. I don’t-I don’t love him. Not in the way I should.”  _ Not the way I love Jon. _ “What do I do?” Dany can hear the tears in her own voice once again as she speaks. She couldn’t go to the ceremony but people were waiting for her, and as little and stupid as it seems, she was afraid of letting them down. 

Instead of answering, Missy wrapped her up in her arms, enveloping her in a tight embrace that invoked a small choke of a sob from Dany as she hugged her back. When she pulled away, she looked Dany straight in the ways, holding her arms length away from her shoulders. “Do you want me to call Jon?”

Dany thinks about it, but she nods anyway, and Missy nods and steps outside the room to call. Once she’s gone, she buries her face into her hands again. She must look like an absolute monster right now, as her mascara ran down her face and her hair was a mess due to her sticking her hands through it. But it wasn’t her physical appearance that scared her at that moment.  _ What if Jon doesn’t want this? _ What if she was making the wrong choice? So many thoughts ran through her mind all pertaining to whether or not she was going to make a decision that either ruined her life or fixed everything, and it terrified her. 

Then, out of nowhere, a book had fallen from the top of her bedside table. It interrupted her long train of thoughts for the moment at least. Dany sniffled, wiping away at her tears as she got up to put it back where it was. She picked it up, and noticed it had fallen open on a page. She was about to close it, when the words suddenly seemed to halt everything she had ruined her mind thinking about. 

_ “You need to be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart, and strong enough to live the life you’ve always imagined.”  _

Suddenly, the answer was clear. She knew what she had been missing since she had awoken the other day.  _ Uncle Aemon. _ She remembered the dream, his visit and his words to her. A new wave of fresh tears overcame her once again as the answer in her mind, and in her heart stood clear, and all other thoughts and doubts disappeared. She knew what she had to do. 

But before she could go out and tell Missandei, a very loud and hurried sounding knock came through the front door. She heard Missy outside scramble to get it. Dany stayed inside the bedroom, wondering if it was Daario who had come and wondered why she was taking so long. But it wasn't Daario’s voice that she heard anxiously ask Missy where she was. It was- 

The bedroom flew open, and in walked a concerned looking Jon. “Dany! We were wondering where you were and why you hadn’t come yet. Is everything okay?” He knelt down in front of her, a hand placed on her knee. She couldn’t help but smile at him, causing him to look even more confused. 

“Did Missy tell you to come here?” She had to wonder.   


  
He shook his head quickly. “No I came over as fast as I could once we all thought you were a bit too late. Dany, is everything okay?”    


  
She nodded and smiled at him as she felt her heart beat quickly again, but this time, it wasn’t because she was scared or nervous. He had come to check on her even after their argument with each other. He had come even after they had broken each other’s hearts. Dany bit her lip, and hoped desperately that this was all a sign that maybe they do have a second chance. 

“I’m not marrying him,” she said, her voice low as she spoke to him and him only, even though no one else was in the room with them. Missandei had probably stayed outside to give them time to talk, bless her.

Jon’s eyes widened as he looked into her own, the grip of his hand on her knee both somehow tightening and loosening. She could see a war happening in his mind through his eyes, and she saw how he struggled between wanting to be hopeful and acting uncertain. She shouldn’t have let him walk away from her earlier. She shouldn’t have walked away from him when they argued. Most importantly, they shouldn’t have walked away from each other at all. 

“What’re- what’re you saying?” Dany could hear the disbelief in his voice. 

“I don’t love him. And it’s not just because of what happened between us. I don’t love him the way you think I do. And I know in my heart that it isn’t him that’ll make me happier.” She tries her best to explain to him, hoping he’ll understand. Instead, he stands up, looking away from her for a few seconds. Dany immediately falters, and realizes she’s just ruined  _ everything _ . She stands up as well, extremely disappointed and upset, cursing and screaming at herself through her mind because of what she’s done. She suppresses the tears that want to escape her as she turns to leave the room.  _ He doesn’t want this.  _

Just when she takes a step away, she feels her hand being grabbed, keeping her in place. She turns to find Jon holding tightly onto her hand, his eyebrows furrowed together. But he doesn’t look angry or upset with her. Instead, he looks hopeful. Dany faces her body back to him, and he lets go of her hand and walks closer to her. 

Jon starts by shaking his head to himself and giving a shaky sigh. “I didn’t think I could stop loving you, if these eight years had anything to prove. It killed me to say that you'd be better off with someone else. I wanted you to be happy no matter what, but as selfish as it sounds, I really wanted you to be happy with me. But I thought you’d be happier with him, which is why I pushed you away. I didn’t want to ruin what you had. I can’t ruin anything else for you, no more than I already have.” He ended by shaking his head once more, looking down. Tentatively, she brought a hand up, placing it on the side of his cheek, forcing him to look up at her with big eyes. 

“You made me happier in one moment we spent together than he ever did our entire relationship,” Dany admitted. She should feel dirty for saying that, but it was the honest truth. Her heart had full reign of what she was saying, and right now, it beated for Jon, and Jon only. 

He smiled, cupping her face with his own hands, and her lips quivered as she nuzzled her cheek into his hands. Happy tears were now beginning to get to her, but she found she couldn’t care. Things were finally beginning to right themselves after so much time apart. 

“You really do forgive me for all the shit that I put us through?” He inquired, rubbing his thoughts over her tears. 

She nodded earnestly. “I do. We were just teenagers.” If people were to be defined by what they did as kids and teenagers, then everybody in the world would be condemned. What mattered to her was that he had changed. Of course, she doesn’t think it’ll ever be erased from her memory the hurt and betrayal she felt at the time, but what kind of person would that make her if she held onto a grudge for eight years? 

He gave a nervous laugh of relief. “I’m still so sorry though. You know that right? I’m  _ so _ sorry. You were right, I shouldn’t have done it. I should have told you from the start. I shouldn’t have done it at all. And I’ll spend the rest of my life atoning for that if I have to.” His voice cracked in the middle of his sentence. 

Dany shook her head. “No. I don’t want you to do that. Yes, I was really hurt and angry by what happened, but it isn’t fair to keep blaming you for some high school game eight years later. I know now and I understand that you really did love me.” 

He gave her a big smile. “Thank you,” he said, though it came out as a whisper. “I think a part of me will always feel bad, but… thank you. You really think we deserve this second chance?” 

Dany nodded as best she could with his hands on either side of her face, laughing watery. Then it was silent as they seemed to communicate with nothing but their eyes. She could tell they were both trying to hold back from smiling like idiots at the thought that they had finally reconciled and have been brought back together. Just then, she saw as his eyes flickered down to her lips, just as her own did to his. But before anything could happen, the door behind her slammed open, causing Dany to jump out of his arms and turn around, There she found a shocked looking Daario, looking at them in disbelief. 

“What the hell is?” He asked, eyes wide as he looked between her and Jon. She throws one glance at Jon before stepping a couple steps closer to Daario to explain. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Daario. But I can’t marry you.” 

He looks at her as if she’s just told him that ice zombies exist and are coming to take over the world. He looks between her and Jon again, before doing a double take to scrutinizingly look at him. 

“You,” he points to Jon. “You’re the one from that picture. Fucking hells Daenerys! You really are cheating on me!” He snaps at her, causing her to flinch. Behind her, she could hear Jon take a step closer to her. She turned back to him, seeing his angered expression, and shook her head. She had to handle this herself. 

“I was never cheating on you. I would never do that, Daario. I can’t marry you because I don’t love you, not because I was cheating. I don’t love you the way I should. Not the way you want me to.” She takes a deep breath in before saying “Not the way I love Jon.” 

Dany doesn’t look back to him just yet. Daario looks incredibly enraged, and she could tell he was fuming on the inside. Thankfully, instead of shouting and insulting them, he shakes his head and leaves the room instead. Dany hears him saying something incoherent to Missy outside before she hears the sound of the front door slamming shut. She knows they probably need to talk a little bit more, but for now, she’s glad he’s gone.

She turns back around, to find Jon taking very slow, cautious steps toward her. It’s only when she gives him a tearful laugh that he comes closer to her. The tears in her eyes are blurring her vision, but she welcomes them because they’re happy tears. Once they’re finally close enough, he snakes a hand around her waist, bringing her closer to him. With his other hand, he caresses her cheek so softly, and she flutters her shut for a bit, enjoying the feel of finally being  _ home, _ in his arms. When she opens her eyes, she just about nearly cries all over again with the amount of love and adoration he’s looking at her with. 

“I’m going to kiss you now. Is that okay?” 

She smiles widely, and she wants him to do so badly. “I look like a horrible mess right now though.” 

* * *

Jon leans back, just enough to take a look at her face completely. Her mascara was running down her face and her hair was a mess as the low bun in her hair barely stayed together. But there’s a happy smile on her lips, and it’s obvious in her eyes too. He doesn’t think she could look anymore beautiful this way, since she’s in  _ his  _ arms finally, where she belongs.

“You look absolutely beautiful, Dany. You’re perfect” 

He doesn’t think the smile on his face or even hers could get even bigger but somehow they do. His heart wants to burst from the amount of love he feels when she blushes at his compliment. She nods as an answer to his question, and the moment she does, he doesn’t hesitate to claim her lips as his again as she throws her arms around his neck. He smiles against her lips, knowing that she was finally his again after eight long, terrible years. And while Jon knows for a fact that they’re both remembering how they were just like this before, he cannot wait to finally be able to move forward  _ with her _ and make new memories together. 

When they finally pull away in what seems like hours later, they lean their foreheads together, never once breaking eye contact. She was his, just as much as he was hers. It was the way it always should have been from the start. 

“I love you, Dany. So much.”

“And I love you, Jon. So much.” 

* * *

_ Epilogue _

A few weeks later found the new couple sitting in a small hole-in-the-wall food place. The past few weeks had been a flurry of events, so to speak. Jon had done his best to support his girlfriend,  _ gods he loved saying that now,  _ as she tried to juggle having to do work, clear up the bill and all the issues that occurred with a cancelled wedding, and dealing with house arrangements with her ex. 

Dany had managed to clear most things up with Daario, but it didn’t stop the animosity he still held towards her now. They had talked about their apartment, and it was decided that Dany would keep it until she managed to find another apartment that would suit her, while Daario stayed in a hotel until he could hand in his resignation and book a flight ticket back to Meereen. Dany was and  _ is _ incredibly grateful for how supportive Jon had been the entire time, knowing she would have been stressed to the max if it hadn’t been for him. 

Right now, they were having lunch with Robb and Margaery. She and Marge talked about all different things, ranging from work to the new dresses they had bought while shopping together the other day. Dany was grateful to be able to get closer with the girl, finding herself one more best friend to add with Missandei, though of course, no one could ever replace her long time sister-like friend. 

Jon had his arm around her waist, keeping her close as she rested her head against his shoulder. She held the hand that was around her waist, and occasionally, he’d squeeze them together, even as he was in deep conversation with Robb, and she and Marge talked and rolled their eyes at the adorably stupid topics their significant others managed to come up with and laugh about. 

“You know, I’m really happy to see you two together again,” Robb says, and Dany knows he’s referring to her and Jon. She sits up, but she doesn’t dare separate her and Jon’s hands together. They both smile at Robb, knowing that nobody could ever be happier than they were to finally be back together. 

Then, Robb turns to whisper to Dany, though the whole table can hear him. “You have no idea how much of a broody fucker he was.” 

“I was not!” Jon argued, causing them to all laugh. 

Robb arches an eyebrow at him, giving him a challenging stare. “Oh, you wanna bet?”    


  
The word freezes both her and Jon as they quickly look to each other. Jon seems to be a bit more serious about it, his eyes actually wide, so Dany gives him a small smirk, which he follows with a relieved smile. Then, they both turn back to face Robb, and exclaim,

“No more bets!” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END! 
> 
> I already know all kinds of comments I'll get regarding how I handled stuff here and how I ended, but guess what? You can stick your comments wherever you'd like, say whatever you want to bring someone down, but in the end, it only reflects what kind of person you are, especially when you've got a screen to protect you. And it'll probably get deleted so is it really worth your time?
> 
> I just wanna give all the cheesy thanks to every single one of my readers who stuck with me the entire time. Thank you for each and every single one of your kind and sweet comments and kudos. Thank you so much to those that have been patient with me, that have given me a chance, that have stuck up for me. I see it all and I really, really do appreciate and love you for that! Knowing that so many people actually did enjoy this made me quite happy. For my first ever Jonerys/ GoT fic ever, I was incredibly surprised with just how much people actually read this, I truly did not expect for that to happen. And what comes with a lot of people reading it are different opinions. I hope some of you will grow up one day and realize that just because our world can be pretty dark and nasty, it doesn't mean that you have to be as well. Behind the words that you are reading is someone taking time out of their day to write this, someone who could be spending some quality time with their family but is instead having to address issues like this, someone who you have zero idea how they look, how they are, how they act, and what kind of stuff is going on in their lives. Writers (and artists and anyone else) shouldn't have to feel afraid of posting their work because they're scared people will attack them for it. I hope at least one of you will keep that in mind. 
> 
> I think I wanna take a short break from writing and from this fandom in general, and when I say short, I mean like super short. 2 weeks kinda short if time permits me. I just need some time away from racking my brain and all that stuff. I will be replying to comments though when I can and if I want lol.
> 
> Sequel info:
> 
> The sequel has not been forgotten, do not worry! I haven't started writing the first chapter yet, but I do already have a summary and ideas in place. It will probably be posted around the end of the first week of June, but that's a maybe. All I know is that it will be posted in June. I have decided that the title will be "Time only heals if we work through it now" because I think it's pretty fitting even though I have already used as a chapter title before. It won't be as long as this fic was, and probably won't follow the similar time order. It might jump around kind of like a collection of one shots, or it might have some chapters that flow with each other. It all depends, I'll still have to work out those sort of details. I didn't originally plan to have a sequel but because of the amount of positive responses from this fic and because of my love for Jonerys, I've decided to add one. 
> 
> I think that's all I have to say, I am writing all of this on a laptop, so if you're reading this super long note on a phone, I'm sorry lol! Thank you again so so much for reading this story and for sticking with me to the very end, despite how much of a wild ride it's been. It means a great deal to me. If you ever want to talk, I am on Tumblr, you can find my user on my profile. I think that's it, I hope you all stay stay safe during this time and I will see you all again on the next one! 
> 
> Thank you for reading xx

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading "The Bet". I hope you're enjoying the story just as much as I enjoy unfolding it for you. This idea has been in my mind for a long time now, so I just had to write it all out. All credits go to their respective owners. Mostly proofread, there may still be some mistakes here and there.


End file.
